The Kimbell Art Museum - Ft Worth, Texas The Kimbell Art Museum was created on behest of Kay Kimbell's wife, who, upon her husbands death, donated her estate, along with his extensive art collection in order that this would be built in memory of him.

After nearly 10 years of planning and construction, the Kimbell Art Museum finally opened its doors on October 4th, 1972. It cost nearly 7 million dollars to complete, and is constructed mostly of reinforced concrete, which was pourn in place, which is in accordance to Kahn's particular architectural style. As you can see in the pictures below, it is made up of sixteen vaulted units grouped into three sections consisting of six, four, and six parallel rows. These are cast-in-place, post-tensioned, reinforced concrete. There is also a garden and a reflecting pool on the grounds. Natural light is let in through windows on the cylindrical-like ceilings, which you can also see in the photos below.

Overall Plans - an early sketch of the grounds
Detailed Section Plan - here you can see the detail and plans for the natural light ceilings
The Interior - A good example of the use of natural light
The North Face of the Building - The exterior form of the building
The Reflecting Pool - and also the outside of the building

GO BACK