Architects in Conversation: To Build for Art | SO-IL

Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu of SO-IL in conversation with critic Christopher Hawthorne (Yale BA 1993), Senior Critic, Yale School of Architecture.

About this program

Florian Idenburg, RA AIA-IA, and Jing Liu, RA AIA, of SO-IL will join critic Christopher Hawthorne (Yale BA 1993), Senior Critic, Yale School of Architecture, for a discussion about how architecture influences the way we experience art. 

Architects in Conversation: To Build for Art

Louis I. Kahn (1901–1974) is widely recognized as one of the most influential architects of the twentieth century. During his distinguished career, Kahn designed three museums: the Yale University Art Gallery (1953), his first significant commission; the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas (1972); and the Yale Center for British Art, his final building, which was completed after his death and opened to the public in 1977. Notable for his basic geometric forms, muted palettes of natural materials, and galleries filled with diffuse daylight, Kahn created simple yet elegant environments for viewing works of art. His distinctive modernist style, as well as his singular architectural philosophy of how interior space is defined by the interplay of structure and light, continues to influence how architects approach museum design.

Join us for lively and inspiring discussions with architects who, like Kahn, have designed spaces intended for the display of art. This series explores the multifaceted role of museum design in the context of contemporary concerns, with speakers considering the aesthetic, practical, historical, and ethical implications of how architecture influences the way we experience art.

This program is presented through the generosity of the Terry F. Green 1969 Fund for British Art and Culture.