Simulation of Daylight in the Architecture of Louis I. Kahn: A Study of the Un-built Hurva Synagogue

Abstract

One of the most powerful aspects of Louis I. Kahn’s architectural space is his handling of natural light. Kahn believed that architecture began with the ‘making of a room’ and that ‘a room is not a room without natural light.’ Throughout his career, he explored bringing light into interiors in the most imaginative ways. Kahn used endless possibilities, from small devices to complex dome structures, to create a poetic and spiritual light inside buildings. The purpose of this paper is to present the theories and practices of natural light in architecture by Louis Kahn, who has deftly used it as a creative medium in his design of buildings. Starting from development of theories, this research focuses on how he implemented his theories into practice. As a case study, the Hurva Synagogue project is selected to analyze its unique lighting solutions. Many of Kahn’s previous concepts can be traced to the Hurva, making it an ideal project for lighting study. Since Hurva Synagogue is an un-built project, recent techniques of computer graphics is used to understand how daylight illuminates the interior in different times of the day and year in both still images and in 3D animations.