"Exeter began with the periphery, where the light is. I felt the
reading room would be where a person is alone near a widow. and I felt
that would be a private carrel, a kind of discovered place in the folds
of construction. I made the outer depth of the building like a brick
doughnut, independent of the books. I made the inner depth of the
building like a concrete doughnut, where the books are stored away from
the light. The center area is a result of the two contiguous doughnuts;
it's just the entrance where the books are visible all around you through
the big circular openings. So you feel the building has the invitation
of books."
Louis Kahn
The Mind of Louis Kahn
page 77
Photo courtesy of the Great Buildings Collection
Study Carrels
Kahn felt that five issues were basic to the understanding of a
building: site context, spacial composition, structure, light, and
materials. (Paz p. 44) Thus, we shall examine Exeter in each of these areas.
"So Exeter is not a library, either. It is a
searching out of library, its spirit; of what it
stores, imparts; of the accumulated wisdom it stewards; of the needs of
the people who may because of its presence gain presence."
