Disciplines
Architectural History and Criticism | Architecture
Abstract (300 words maximum)
What makes a building meaningful? The beauty of it or the craftsmen that put it together? This paper will dive into Louis Khan’s Kimbell Art Museum (1972) in Forth Worth, Texas, and Zhang Pengju’s West Wusutu Village Community Center (2019) in Hohhot, China, projects that have different approaches to how architecture engages people and defines space.
Louis Kahn’s design is praised for its ability to exhibit art, he uses daylight as his primary material to define space and emotion. Through the use of cycloid vaults and reflected light he enhances the occupants’ experience gently, expressing architecture through beauty, proportion and permeance. However, Zhang Pengju redefines the architectural value of his design through local construction practices rather than perfection. By using locally sourced materials like recycled brick and timber, Zhang collaborated with the community collecting their knowledge and labor tactics to erect the building. The design itself isn’t anything crazy and modern but it was built to blend in with the community's daily life - built for them and by them.
This paper will examine how both architects translate culture and materials into form, yet they differ from one another. Khan’s mastery of light and beauty versus Zhang’s ability to conform with society and their environment to create a collaborative design using vernacular methods. Deep research and case studies on phenomenology, critical regionalism and socially inclined architecture will help drive the investigation of this paper. Explaining how architecture can go from serving as an artistic expression to a catalyst for communal empowerment.
In conclusion, the investigation will back up how Kahn saw to define beauty through light and how Zhang differentiated in finding beauty in the given context and reality of place. Two equal architectural strategies that are distinguishable but shape the human experience. (Some AI use for ideation)
Use of AI Disclaimer
yes
Academic department under which the project should be listed
CACM – Architecture
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Eshan Mashadi
Included in
Light and Labor: From Monumental Beauty to Communal Craft
What makes a building meaningful? The beauty of it or the craftsmen that put it together? This paper will dive into Louis Khan’s Kimbell Art Museum (1972) in Forth Worth, Texas, and Zhang Pengju’s West Wusutu Village Community Center (2019) in Hohhot, China, projects that have different approaches to how architecture engages people and defines space.
Louis Kahn’s design is praised for its ability to exhibit art, he uses daylight as his primary material to define space and emotion. Through the use of cycloid vaults and reflected light he enhances the occupants’ experience gently, expressing architecture through beauty, proportion and permeance. However, Zhang Pengju redefines the architectural value of his design through local construction practices rather than perfection. By using locally sourced materials like recycled brick and timber, Zhang collaborated with the community collecting their knowledge and labor tactics to erect the building. The design itself isn’t anything crazy and modern but it was built to blend in with the community's daily life - built for them and by them.
This paper will examine how both architects translate culture and materials into form, yet they differ from one another. Khan’s mastery of light and beauty versus Zhang’s ability to conform with society and their environment to create a collaborative design using vernacular methods. Deep research and case studies on phenomenology, critical regionalism and socially inclined architecture will help drive the investigation of this paper. Explaining how architecture can go from serving as an artistic expression to a catalyst for communal empowerment.
In conclusion, the investigation will back up how Kahn saw to define beauty through light and how Zhang differentiated in finding beauty in the given context and reality of place. Two equal architectural strategies that are distinguishable but shape the human experience. (Some AI use for ideation)