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Esherick House
Louis Kahn | |
| location | Philadelphia |
| function | private house |
| contributed by | jpmm |
Single family house, one of the few Kahn built. Wood frame, dark stucco outside. In the Esherick House, the inherent monumentality of the plan is diminished by the fact that the major living spaces are surrounded by very thick walls. In the double-height living room, the fireplace wall is literally deep. The opposite wall in plan also has a fireplace used in the bathroom, but the wall is thicker containing a zone of servant spaces, kitchen, bathrooms, closets which are not part of the axial symmetry of the two major living spaces. The two window walls are also thick but these frame walls with alcoves or niches between the casements. The most intricate planning occurs on the first floor where the sliding doors between the gallery and bedroom, and then between bedroom and bathroom, suggest a flow of space from void to room to altar. (David Dunster. Key Buildings of the Twentieth Century Volume 2: Houses 1945-1989. p52-53)
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