Of quotidian proportions: the everyday determinants of great modern architecture

The present paper examines the most revered building of the celebrated Modern master, Louis I. Kahn, whose name is often invoked as a synonym for devotion to the art, rather than the business, of architecture. If any twentieth-century architect had resisted the quotidian obstacles that fetter most architects’ symbolic geometrising, it was Kahn. The paper will focus on the The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas (1966-72), and approach the topic from a number of angles. Firstly, Kahn’s public statements concerning proportion will be considered. Secondly, geometrical analyses of the plans and sections of The Kimbell are presented, showing where precise and approximate proportions actually exist. Analytical mathematical and geometrical findings are then reconciled with the archival records for this project, to determine the extent to which existing proportions reflect deliberate architectural intensions, or are the result of chance. The paper highlights a complex interplay of forces, and draws few general conclusions. For Kahn, the incorporation of harmonic proportions (that is, proportions based on musical ratios) is a stated aim, but it is not an overriding concern. His genius lay in his ability to frame correspondence with his client and specialist consultants in terms that would make music based proportions a likely outcome of their dialogue. In particular, Kahn couched queries and suggestions regarding dimensions in terms of whole feet dimensions. When dealing with major dimensions, he errs away from prime numbers, preferring numbers with factors that could be shared with related dimensions. In this way, he is able to appease others’ instrumentalist and quotidian agendas while leaving himself greater scope for establishing music based ratios. The complex and tentative nature of this paper’s findings reflects the disparate backgrounds of this paper’s author and a key consultant on this project, Mark Reynolds. Reynolds is a geometer whose past publications in this field are specifically concerned with finding geometrical relationships. He has generously contributed to this work by analysing plans of the Kimbell, and by highlighting the significance of that building’s sectional ratios. Their unusual collaboration reflects a desire to reach balanced conclusions regarding the role of proportion in Modern architecture.