A Building of Wonders

Jonas Salk directed the eminent architect Louis Kahn to provide unobstructed laboratory spaces that could be adapted to the ever-changing needs of science. The building materials had to be simple, strong, durable and as maintenance-free as possible, including concrete, teak, lead, glass and steel. Each building contains three floors of laboratory space, interspersed by three levels of interstitial pipe spaces. With its two mirror-image, 6-story-tall buildings that flank a grand courtyard, the Salk Institute, completed in 1965, serves as a globally renowned scientific facility today.

Sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Latest discoveries, events & more.