Nathaniel Kahn: My father, my architect

www.ted.com Nathaniel Kahn shares clips from his documentary "My Architect," about his quest to understand his father, the legendary architect Louis Kahn. It's a film with meaning to anyone who seeks to understand the relationship between art and love.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

[@nuddin84]

Nathaniel Kahn, Your father did for us special thing.we will remember him forever. god bless you !!

[@Squisky]

I am from Bangladesh, it really is an exquisite building. We are proud to have it and we thank him for it. A shame that the people within do not match the grace of the exterior.

[@ShafiqulIslam_coder]

Nathaniel Kahn we are Bangadeshi and we won't forget your father. We do remember your father with humble respect. He was a man of respect.

[@MisterMcKinney]

No, you’re not.

[@eeem0n]

As a Bangladeshi, I'm so grateful to Louis Kahn and his family as well. Thank you, Louis Kahn. We won't forget you

[@Natbore0309]

As architects it is our duty to touch peoples lives. To make them love where they are and what they have. That is the beauty of architecture and that is the task given to us. I'm still a student and it will be my job to make this happen.

[@Malavika-nw7zb]

Well said

[@CrazyMan-qs4so]

so? is this your job now?

[@GreasedMunky]

I totally agree. The emotion the last speaker has is alone video worthy

[@freedomfighters5095]

So touching

[@ginmortal1]

The video itself is about finding the answer of why his father was not around, and instead of focusing on the technical aspect of his wonderful architectural legacy, it focused on what it means to them, a great source of pride for the community, it explains the humanism beyond the design and usefulness of the structure.

[@MelanieH2]

Nathaniel is very lucky having 2 genius parents who he captured beautifully in the film."Thank you" I wouldn't have known about your Dad, Mom or Anne if you weren't born.(I bought it too & Strongly recommend it for All Libraries)Documentation is Very important-Truth is so much stronger.This should be shown in Architecture/ Landscap Architecture schools everywhere as History. Brilliant and I'm a Planner~LA;)

[@JeffreyArchitect]

Richard Saul Wurman when he was Dean of the School of Environmental Design; Told me I was "Timid" and didn't like my Freshman project much. It was a summer camp cabin for scouts. I chose to build it like they might if if there were real cabins being built. Other students had wild things that weren't feasible to build at all. I took away from that encounter that one I am not timid, I am practical and two, there is beauty in everyday architecture and responses to context and place. So be it.

[@petexii]

You can never tell by the title... ...I only watched this because it was the only recent one I hadn't seen. :)

[@1966human]

Fantastic architecture, a very unique building. It is not easy to keep building in uncertain times, in uncertain times and over a long period of time you have to have good foresight and character to have something like this finished. It was obviously worth building it.

[@Geert_e]

i totally agree, the drumroll always gave me goose bumps, i miss it.

[@tschannesh]

I am so much impressed with your work, that I really wished to visit IIM, Ahmadabad, National Assembly Dakha and Salk Institute. Wished to have the feel of your father's great mind. Thank you so much, lots of regards from Bangalore, India.

[@DriftingMunki]

True Humanness is beautiful.

[@asmodeus585]

Very interesting - it was amazingly good for my gloomy mood.

[@whatatidymess]

Your farth was a Legend, thanks for this video.

[@ryanjavierortega8513]

I wonder if the 'largeness' of a work - particularly contemporary works, inspired primarily by sculpture, I would argue - builds a wall, in the sense Sartre meant - 'Between the [work] and the audience, one that forever separates the two. Contemporary Architecture can sometimes distance an individual by taking on a personality of its own, one that may be at odds with the individual 'spectator.' This, to me, is an interesting problem and an interesting benefit of the medium.

[@samala51]

Really surprised at the comments, I thought it was a wonderful talk

[@fernandaplazadiaz6318]

holaa, saben dónde puedo ver el documental completo? ojalá con subtítulos en español si es posible

[@sleepmark]

LOL 6:13 the guy in the back ground

[@lebasson]

haha, I agree! But you must agree that the previous tune still was far, far less annoying than the one before it :)

[@kanetakc]

@claudelebel55 He's a Bangladeshi Architect & Professor

[@whatatidymess]

I don't now about this was B.S. , but yeah he still is one and I living one at that.

[@AtelierFleur]

4:30

[@dcotai2902]

.... Kahn Quotes You say to a brick, 'What do you want, brick? ' And brick says to you, 'I like an arch. ' And you say to brick, 'Look, I want one, too, but arches are expensive and I can use a concrete lintel.

[@maxxamtml]

im sure your farth was a legend too lol

[@whatatidymess]

4th, yay....

[@flobba123]

calm down or i call 911 !!1

[@Aquamanatee]

Some on Roosevelt Is. raised a stink over the Louis Kahn-designed FDR park there. Others objected to FDR being the subject: His failures, mistreatment of black troops and Asian-American citizens, killing of Japanese and German civilians. Hats off to Nathaniel and his grandfather "Lou-ee." His Richards Medical Bldg. stared at me from a Quad window at Penn. Louis' son & I.M. Pei call him Lou. Richard Schlesinger, CBS Sunday Morning, in his report, calls him Louis, like St. Louis. Who knows?

[@Namari12]

I feel like this would've been more interesting if I heard of Louis Kahn. But unfortunately I don't know anything about architecture. This wasn't exactly.. informative, if you aren't at least passingly familiar with his work.

[@nehpetzlolz]

second?