The Vision of Philadelphia Architect — Who Once Proposed Inner-City Viaducts — Lives on in Montco
Architect Louis Isadore Kahn may not be familiar, but many distinct designs of the Estonian native remain standing locally, almost 50 years after his passing. As reported in Curbed Philadelphia, many survivors are Montgomery County residences.
Kahn came to the U.S. in 1906, when his family fled the Russo-Japanese War. As a Philadelphia student, he excelled at art, which begat an architectural career.
He became a draftsman for the city, where one of his answers to urban congestion was a series of viaducts so that “… the streets could become buildings.”
His work with residential real estate, however, caught on and endured.
One survivor is the Korman House in Fort Washington.
Built in 1973, the Korman House was Kahn’s last completed residential work (he passed in 1974) and also his largest.
Steven and Toby Korman wanted ample space to raise their three boys, and Kahn collaborated with a Huntingdon Valley home builder to provide it.
Today, the Korman’s oldest son Larry, and his family still dwell there, and the structure has been meticulously preserved.
Other remaining homes from the creative mind of Louis Isadore Kahn are in:
All can be viewed at Curbed Philadelphia.
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A documentary on Louis Isadore Kahn.
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