Allan Toft
| Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, 1972 |
When it comes to naturally lit art museums, Louis Kahn’s Kimbell Art Museum is without parallel. The project is a true collaborative effort between Kahn and Richard Kelly, and more than 100 different approaches were explored in the creation of a skylight that would only allow indirect sunlight to come in contact with the artwork. The result is a curved reflecting screen of perforated anodized aluminum that distributes an ethereal, silvery light evenly across the cycloid curve of the ceiling during the day. Kelly prepared a full-scale hand drawing that replicated the subtle curve of the reflector, and engineer Isaac Goodbar, who was working for lighting manufacturer Edison Price, used a computer program to determine the reflector’s curve, making the project one of the first uses of computer technology in either architectural or architectural lighting design.