Our building for June, as interpreted by HEDQF ‘Artist in Residence’ Bill Hunt, is The Salk Institute, San Diego.
Architect: Louis Khan
Location : San Diego
Completed: 1965
About: The Salk Institute was established in 1960 by Jonas Salk, MD, who developed the first safe and effective polio vaccine.
Louis Kahn’s design consists of two structures facing each other both six stories tall with a central travertine courtyard. The original Salk Institute buildings were designated a historical landmark in 1991.
Kahn decided to create a separate service floor above each of the laboratories to make it easier to reconfigure individual laboratories in the future without disrupting neighbouring space he also designed each laboratory floor to be entirely free of internal support columns, making laboratory configuration easier.
At the west end there are six floors of offices overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Interesting fact: Francis Crick was a key figure in their research and faculty.
