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.
A Building of Wonders
Featured Stories
Untangling the mysteries of the spinal cordConverging research and innovative technologies are tackling some of the deadliest motor diseases.
An interview with Diana HargreavesInside Salk talked with Hargreaves about why she prefers smaller intellectual environments, what excites her about the science she does at the Institute, and how she thinks about being a woman in science.
Delving into the best of both worlds with Shani SternAs the only electrophysiologist in the lab, Stern uses her engineering expertise to delve into the biological mysteries that most intrigue her, particularly bipolar disorder.