The Kimbell Art Museum
Figure 1
The Project
The Kimbell Art Museum was designed by Louis Kahn, Khan began designing the project in 1967 and the building was opened in 1972. The lighting designer, Richard Kelly and the structural engineer, August Komondent, were also heavily involved in the building’s design. The client for this project was the Kimbell Art Foundation. The museum covers a gross surface area of 120,000 square feet and is U-shaped in plan. (14), (15)
The Kimbell Art Museum was built to house the art collection of Kay Kimbell. Kimbell, a wealthy businessman, began collecting art after World War I. His vast collection led to Kimbell developing the Kimbell Art Foundation. Following his death in 1964 the plans to create the Kimbell Art Museum began. In his will he stated that a museum should be built in Fort Worth, Texas for his collection. Louis Khan received the commission from the Kimbell Art Foundation in 1966 and set about designing the Kimbell Art Museum seen today. Richard Brown, the museum’s founding director, wanted natural light to play a large role in the building’s design. He stated that he wanted to feel as though the outdoor environment and its weather conditions had entered the space. From the onset of this project daylight was to play a strong role in the building’s design. (14), (15)
Louis Khan immigrated to the United States from Estonia when he was 5 years old. He did not complete his first mature project until he was in his fifties. In his earlier years Khan would draw landscapes and light would be the primary focus of these renderings. Khan was critical of buildings that, in his opinion, overly emphasised artificial light. He worked to intricately incorporate nature into his architecture and above all used natural light to create his designs (16). Therefore, its is no surprise that when designing an art museum Khan employed the use of natural light and made it the focal point of the project.
Top row, from left to right: Figure 2, Figure 3
Bottom row: Figure 4
The Location
The museum is located in Fort Worth, a city in Texas, The United States. Although it is situated in a city the museum’s large grounds mean that it is not affected by shadows or daylight blockages resulting from other buildings, this can be seen in the image in fig. 5. The Kimbell Art Museum lies on an east-west axis, this orientation is not optimal for gaining maximum sunlight, but this was not the goal of this project. The weather in Fort Worth does not vary greatly throughout the year. The cloud coverage in the city is generally quite low. It is highest between December and May where it reaches approximately 50% (11). This means that the daylight conditions throughout the year are usually quite bright. The daylight hours during the winter equinox are about ten hours while during the summer equinox the daylight hours last about fourteen hours (12).
Figure 5, Figure 6
The Daylight Design
As with any art museum, Khan needed to take careful consideration when it came to illuminating the space. Prolonged exposure to both invisible and visible radiation, visible light, can be detrimental to paintings (17). The weather conditions in Fort Worth consist of high levels of sunlight and this meant that careful manipulation of this light was crucial in order to take advantage of the bright natural light without damaging the paintings. Khan and Richard Kelly, the lighting designer, devised a plan to combat this issue. Plexiglass slits that cut the cycloid barrel-vaulted ceilings along their long axis allowed natural light into the space from above. Aluminium that had been polished on one side was used to reflect daylight coming inside from the exterior onto the light grey concrete surfaces that made up the interior’s vaulted ceiling. The light was then diffusely reflected by the concrete downwards, generating a soft glow in the space. This daylight design maximises the amount of daylight in the space and minimises the damage it does on the paintings and artwork. (14), (16), (18)
The materiality of the building was chosen with great care. The materials in this project manipulate the daylight that enters the space. The aluminium was polished to ensure a uniform surface that could reflect as much light as possible. Once polished the aluminium acts as a specular reflector. The concrete of the vaults was used as it is not specular and instead produces an ambient glow in the space below. The concrete used would normally provide a wide scatter of light, meaning the light would retain its general incidental direction when reflected, however the curve of the ceiling creates a more uniform spread of light (6). This prevents light from being directly reflected onto the paintings and also reduces unwanted glare from the light reflecting into the users’ eyes. The impact of the daylight that enters on the materials creates an interesting aesthetic effect. The light picks up on the irregularities of colour and texture in the concrete and it seems almost as if the concrete itself is the space’s light source. This adds a richness to the architecture and so daylight is not only used functionally but as a tool in the overall design.
Having light enter through the ceiling is an intelligent design choice. Texas has a latitude of approximately 33 degrees meaning it is quite close to the equator. When the sun is at its highest point during the summer equinox it reaches an altitude of about 81 degrees (12). This is a steep angle and so having glazing in the roof ensures that direct sunlight will be allowed to enter into the building at all times of the year. In the spaces where pieces of artwork were not intended to be displayed the aluminum light reflectors were perforated to allow a small amount of direct sunlight into the spaces (16). The light that enters through the ceiling also reaches spaces that the light from the windows into the various courtyards cannot reach.
Three courtyards were placed within the building. These courtyards were given the names “green”, “yellow” and “blue court”. The reasoning behind this was the hues of light that they would emit into the gallery spaces. The different foliage in each courtyard would create a different type of lighting depending on the colours present (16). The windows looking into these courtyards also provide another means of entry for daylight into the space but once again this light has been reflected off a variety of surfaces and so has a reduced damaging effect on the artwork.
The manipulation of daylight is used to create theatricality at the entrance of the building. Landscape design combines with architecture to achieve this. The museum has a U-shaped plan. At the top points of this “U” are pools of water. During the late afternoon and evening, when the sun is at the western side of the building, the sunlight is reflected by the water onto the entrance of the building (18). The light moves and changes with the movement of the pools creating a rich aesthetic on the exterior of the building. The entrance is fully glazed meaning that the light bouncing off the water can, at times, be reflected onto the interior ceiling of the reception area.
Figure 7, Figure 8
References
Information
11. PD: Weather Data [Internet]. Drajmarsh.bitbucket.io. [cited 18 October 2020]. Available from: https://drajmarsh.bitbucket.io/weather-data.html
12. SunCalc sun position- und sun phases calculator [Internet]. Suncalc.org. 2020 [cited 13 October 2020]. Available from: https://www.suncalc.org/#/52.2029,5.1515,3/2020.10.27/10:40/1/3
14. Park J, Joo Y, Yang J. Cycloids in Louis I. Kahn’s kimbell art museum at fort worth, Texas. The Mathematical Intelligencer. 2007;29(2):42-48.
15. R. K. The Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth. The Burlington Magazine. 1972;:889-892.
16. Sauter F. PAINTING THE SKY BLACK. Louis Kahn and the Architectonization of Nature. 1st ed. [Place of publication not identified]: De Gruyter; 2018 p. 1, 2, 395-402
17. Durmus D, Abdalla D, Duis A, Davis W. Spectral Optimization to Minimize Light Absorbed by Artwork. LEUKOS. 2018;16(1):45-54.
18. Kahn Building in Detail | Kimbell Art Museum [Internet]. Kimbellart.org. 2020 [cited 19 October 2020]. Available from: https://www.kimbellart.org/content/kahn-building-detail
Images
Figure 1. Lehoux N. Kahn Building in Detail | Kimbell Art Museum [Internet]. Kimbellart.org. 2020 [cited 19 October 2020]. Available from: https://www.kimbellart.org/content/kahn-building-detail
Figure 2. Lehoux N. Kahn Building in Detail | Kimbell Art Museum [Internet]. Kimbellart.org. 2020 [cited 19 October 2020]. Available from: https://www.kimbellart.org/content/kahn-building-detail
Figure 3. Lehoux N. Kahn Building in Detail | Kimbell Art Museum [Internet]. Kimbellart.org. 2020 [cited 19 October 2020]. Available from: https://www.kimbellart.org/content/kahn-building-detail
Figure 4. BIANCHINI R. Kimbell Art Museum - Fort Worth (Louis Kahn e Renzo Piano) [Internet]. Inexhibit. 2020 [cited 28 October 2020]. Available from: https://www.inexhibit.com/it/mymuseum/kimbell-art-museum-fort-worth-louis-kahn-renzo-piano/
Figure 5. Kimbell Art Museum [Internet]. Kimbell Art Museum. 2020 [cited 27 October 2020]. Available from: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kimbell+Art+Museum/@32.7485732,-97.3671095,523m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x864e73c280e0fd07:0x64792626d529c510!8m2!3d32.7485687!4d-97.3649208
Figure 6. Kimbell Art Museum [Internet]. Kimbell Art Museum. 2020 [cited 27 October 2020]. Available from: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kimbell+Art+Museum/@32.7485732,-97.3671095,523m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x864e73c280e0fd07:0x64792626d529c510!8m2!3d32.7485687!4d-97.3649208
Figure 7. Lehoux N. Kahn Building in Detail | Kimbell Art Museum [Internet]. Kimbellart.org. 2020 [cited 19 October 2020]. Available from: https://www.kimbellart.org/content/kahn-building-detail
Figure 8. Lehoux N. Kahn Building in Detail | Kimbell Art Museum [Internet]. Kimbellart.org. 2020 [cited 19 October 2020]. Available from: https://www.kimbellart.org/content/kahn-building-detail
