Through sheer determination and courage, Kahn has researched the
nature of concrete in the form of precast, cast in place or blocks.
Each of his renowned works in exposed concrete, such as the Yale
Art Gallery, the Richards Laboratories, the Bath House, the Salk
Institute, the National Assembly, the Kimbell Museum, the Exeter
Library and the Yale Center for British Art, is itself an important
chapter in the history of architecture for the exploration into
concrete s formal expression, beyond the lessons of Le
Corbusier.
Kahn s obsession with concrete s fabrication processes, the
formwork and the mix-design is systematically examined in two
volumes. They illustrate Kahn s vision using documents that have
never been revealed in other essays, drawing heavily from original
sketches, plans, specifications, worksite photographs, and
correspondences with collaborators, engineers, technicians and
contractors.
The first volume "Exposed Concrete and Hollow Stones" focuses on
the first ten-year period of Kahn's research on concrete. Moving
through the many construction systems experienced by Kahn, from the
discovery of exposed concrete in the form of "beton brut" at the
Yale Art Gallery, to the precast and poured-in-place techniques, to
the values of joint, growth and ornament, the work culminates in
the reconstruction of the artistic and technical characteristics of
two great worksite, the Richards Laboratories and the First
Unitarian Church and School. The second volume, "Towards the Zero
Degree of Concrete," covers the following fourteen years and leads
the reader along Kahn s path to the true 'nature of concrete',
focusing on his main techniques and discoveries such as the 'liquid
stone' of the Salk Institute, the 'smooth finish' at Bryn Mawr and
the concept of 'monolithic' at the Yale Center for British
Art."
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