Louis Kahn: a world within a world
A talk by Mike Tonkin
15th December 2026 - 19.00 - Alan Baxter Gallery, 77 Cowcross Street, London
Docomomo members go free. To book a member’s ticket please click here. To become a member see here.
Tickets for attendance in person and online are available here. Tickets will also be available on the door for £15.
For online attendance, please book your ticket before 18.00 on the day of the event. A link to watch the talk online will be sent to attendees before it begins.
Louis Kahn, A World within a World
“As a wandering observer seeking firsthand experience, I have spent many years travelling around the world, photographing nature, people, and architecture. This has created a body of knowledge that informs the storytelling approach in Tonkin Liu’s work. My collection of photographs spans over 50 years and includes a diverse range of architects from ancient to modern. One architect who encompasses this time spectrum is Louis Kahn.
Kahn was an independent thinker whose architecture made his thought process evident. Fundamental questioning guided Kahn’s buildings towards essential form, evoking the ancient ruins visited during his travels. Each of his buildings is an expression of a constructional system, a relationship between light and structure, servant and served spaces, truth to material, and a reverence for detail.
For Docomomo, I have selected buildings by Louis Kahn from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and the US. They will be presented as journeys towards protected inner sanctums, revealing the mindset of a world within a world.”
Mike Tonkin, PhD, MA RCA, CMLI, ARB, RIBA is a practitioner and teacher. He is a founding director of Tonkin Liu along with his partner Anna Liu. He has taught at several schools in the UK and abroad and served as an external examiner. His archive of photographs inspires his practice and teaching, helping him pass on first-hand experience of visiting and appreciating past and present masters.
