By Jessica Davis, JTNews Correspondent
Twenty-five years after acclaimed architect Louis “Lou” Kahn mysteriously died from a heart-attack in Penn Station, his son Nathaniel Kahn went on a search of his father with a documentary titled My Architect.
An Estonian Jew who immigrated with his family to Philadelphia in 1906, Lou rose from poverty to build such icons as the Salk Institute, the Kimbell Art Museum and the capitol building in Bangladesh. Nathaniel recalls a story about how Lou got the scars on his face when he was three years old in Estonia. Lou was captivated by the light that he saw from some coals glowing in a stove. He took the coals out and put them in his apron. The apron caught fire and the flames seared his face and the backs of his hands. His father thought it would be better if Lou died, but his mother said he would grow up to be a great man because of it. This experience seemed to carry into his adult life, as he liked to design buildings that utilized natural light.
In the beginning of the film, Nathaniel searches newspaper articles on microfilm and reads, “Louis I. Kahn, whose strong forms of brick and concrete influenced a generation of architects and made him in the opinion of most architectural scholars, America’s foremost living architect, died Sunday evening apparently of a heart attack in Pennsylvania Station. He was 73 years old. Besides his wife, Mr. Kahn leaves a daughter, Sue Ann.”
Lou’s death revealed a triple life. In addition to his wife and daughter, Lou had long-term relationships with two different women who bore him children. All three families lived within a few miles of each other, but had never crossed paths until Lou’s funeral.
“When I first read that obituary, I have to admit, I was looking for my own name. I was his child too. His only son,” says Nathaniel, who was 11 when Louis died.
Nathaniel set out on a journey to see his father’s buildings, while finding out more about him. Nathaniel interviews members of his own family, many of his father’s colleagues and even cabbies that taxied Louis around Philadelphia. He follows the tracks of his father, from as far away as Bangladesh and Jerusalem.
In Jerusalem, where Lou was commissioned for a synagogue project, Nathaniel speaks with 90-year-old Teddy Kolek, former mayor of Jerusalem. Kolek and Lou worked together on the unfinished project for seven years.
Throughout Nathaniel’s life, Lou never spoke with his son about being Jewish. According to architect Moshe Safdie, Lou was a spiritual person, but not necessarily rooted in Judaism.
With countless interviews, old film footage and international scenery, My Architect is an enlightening feature-length documentary about the largely unknown life of Louis Kahn. The film shows insight to his character; a nomad of sorts who often slept in his office, a charmer, a genius. As his life changed, so did his buildings. My Architect is an entertaining exploration, complete with a whole array of emotions.
My Architect is playing at Seattle’s Varsity Theater for a limited engagement.