Salk Institute – Louis Kahn
In 1959, Jonas Salk, the man who had discovered the vaccine for polio, approached Louis I. Kahn with a project. The city of San Diego, California had gifted him with a picturesque site in La Jolla along the Pacific coast, where Salk intended to found and build a biological research center. Salk, whose vaccine had already had a profound impact on the prevention of the disease, was adamant that the design for this new facility should explore the implications of the sciences for humanity. He also had a broader, if no less profound, directive for his chosen architect: to “create a facility worthy of a visit by Picasso.” The result was the Salk Institute, a facility lauded for both its functionality and its striking aesthetics – and the manner in which each supports the other.
In the five decades that have passed since the Salk Institute opened its doors in 1965, the external appearance of Kahn’s masterwork remains largely unaltered. The concrete and stone have withstood the seaside elements almost entirely unscathed, while a recent preservation effort by the Getty Foundation sought to repair the teak paneling while preserving 70% of the original material. Salk and Kahn’s foresight in the design of the laboratories has also allowed the Institute to remain a functioning facility for advanced research, one which has played host to half a dozen Nobel laureates since its founding. With its flexible design and masterful interplay of material and space, the Salk Institute is likely to retain its significance as both a research center and an architectural wonder far into the future.
