Where Cement meets Calm The Salk Institute: Connecting the California Conscience A California
of tranquility in architecture; purposely planted
brutalism. I’ve been to the actual Taj Mahal a couple of
icon of Modern
symmetrical vistas overlooking the rugged Pacific
times, and it’s the same feeling: You get pulled in every
architecture,
coastline create a unique California style. Kahn, (always
time you are there, staring down that long channel.”
the Salk Institute
ahead of his time) designed the complex to express
fo r B i o l o g i c a l
an underlying sense of spiritualism, fusing influences
“And of course, there’s the site, which is right on
Sciences- like
from both the mid-century modernism and brutalism,
the edge of the Pacific Ocean,” he adds. “It’s very
its designer-
cradled by a gently flowing stream through the center
experiential. A lot of Louis Kahn’s work is like that. You
maintains a low
of the design, and peppered with California sunshine
don’t get it until you go.”
profile: Invisible
throughout even the deepest corners. Upon entering
from the street,
the plaza, you immediately feel the ethereal glow of
It has been over 50 years since Kahn completed the
only revealing
the western light elements, bouncing off the organic
project, his client, Dr. Jonas Salk, developer of the first
itself once you enter the campus and is arguably one of
teak wood and travertine marble finishes. Its function
successful polio vaccine, commissioned him to “create
architectures most transformative experiences. Perched
may be for science, but Kahn’s structure feels more like
a facility worthy of a visit by Picasso.” Needless to say
dramatically on a cliff above the Pacific Ocean, the
a temple to nature. The majestic masterpiece reflects
Kahn rose to the challenge; today the Salk Institute
research complex, completed in 1965, was designed
an understanding of science, the human connection
is considered a global architectural icon. With the
by Modernist architect Louis I. Khan. His symmetrical,
(working together) and a soulful solitude, in a way only
popularity of mid-century architecture and design on
“zig zag” arrangement of concrete buildings frames a
architect Louis I. Kahn could conceive.
the rise, an inquisitive mind and a passion for everything uniquely California - I reached out to the Salk Institute
stunning travertine plaza with a dramatic endpoint where the horizon meets the sky.
Architecture writer Sam Lubell, describes his experience
for some Interesting facts about the Salk Institute and
after touring the Salk as this, “It’s perfectly symmetrical
its impressive roots in science and California style.
Built in 1962 and declared a national historic landmark
and you have this channel that leads to infinity and you
in 1991, the famous building has become an emblem
get this feeling of awe. I like to call it the Taj Mahal of
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Photo Credit | Salk Institute for Biological Studies
The Facts
chose for the metal work was left untreated to create a
• In 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
dense adherent oxide that prevents further corrosion.
and First Lady Maria Shriver inducted Salk into the California Hall of Fame.
• The collaboration between Louis Kahn and Jonas Salk produced a design for a facility uniquely suited to scientific
• The one feature of Kahn’s design that has proven the
research. The next challenge was to realize it through
most beneficial is the interstitial spaces. By creating
• It’s a collaboration that draws architectural pilgrims
the use of materials that could last for generations
these spaces between each lab floor, Kahn succeeded
from all over the world. Louis I. Khan’s Salk Institute
with only minimal maintenance. The materials chosen
in confining all the electrical lines, piping systems and
receives an estimated 4,500 visitors a year.
for this purpose were concrete, teak, lead, glass, and
ventilation ducts to this area–keeping the laboratories
special (A242) steel.
completely open and unobstructed. This architectural
• In 1974, Kahn died of a heart attack in a restroom at
design allows researchers to re-configure their
Penn Station in Manhattan. He had just returned from
laboratories as scientific needs change.
a work trip to India. After his long career, he was in debt
• Kahn flooded the laboratories with daylight. He built
when he died.
all four outer walls of the laboratory levels out of large, double-strength glass panes, producing an open, airy
• Kahn channeled Roman times to rediscover the
work environment. Local zoning codes restricted the
waterproof qualities and the warm, pinkish glow of
height of the buildings so that the first two stories had
“pozzuolanic” concrete. Once the concrete was set, he
to be underground. This did not, however, prevent the
allowed no further processing of the finish—no grinding,
architect from bringing in daylight: he designed a series
no filling, and above all, no painting. The architect chose
of light wells 40 feet long and 25 feet wide on both sides
an unfinished look for the teak surrounding the study
A Los Angeles based writer, home and lifestyle arbiter, and founder of the
of each building to bring daylight into the lowest level.
towers and west office windows, and he directed that
popular weekly column; California Style - inspired by the poetic beauty,
WRITTEN BY
Maggy Siegel
no sealer or stain be applied to the teak. The building’s
coastal style and rustic charm that is uniquely California - She is a Mother,
• No sealer or stain was applied to the teak so that it
exterior, with only minor required maintenance, today
nature lover, collector of rare books and art and travel enthusiast. Contact:
would weather to a natural great, and the A242 steel he
looks much as it did in the 1960s.
maggysiegelcastyle@gmail.com or Instagram maggysiegelcastyle.
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