Gabor and Louis Kahn
From about 1960 until Kahn’s death in 1974, Gabor was Kahn’s “conversation partner” and a mysterious presence in his Architectural studio and Master class at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Gabor was 21 years old when he walked in - reportedly without a portfolio, resume or an appointment. The story is that he and Kahn talked for hours, Kahn handed him a twenty and told him to come back the next day. He stayed for 14 years.
Louis Kahn in the Auditorium at the Kimbell Art Museum
Numerous books about Kahn mention him and how their special relationship affected Kahn’s work.
Gabor told me that he had carefully studied Kahn's work for countless hours - he wasn’t just making stuff up. He really worked hard at having deeper understanding and appreciation of the work and what he felt Architecture was all about in order to be of value to Kahn’s continuing efforts. I don’t know if it’s true, but he told me that Kahn had given him the copyrights to the special indirect natural daylighting detail at the Kimbell.
From Book - Louis I. Kahn The Nordic Latitudes by Per Olaf Fjeld and Emily Randall Fjeld. Published October 2019.
“Gabor Szalontay was a regular participant in Kahn’s masterclass. Known simply as Gabor, he at times played a catalyst role in setting the atmosphere of the studio, since he could interject a word or sentence into the discussion that would shift its entire focus. Gabor was a uniquely reflective person who, as I understood at the time, Kahn engaged as a conversation partner in his office, a role he clearly served in the classroom as well. Gabor was a man of words always searching for a deeper or more specific meaning in each phrase or word that passed into his realm. It was as if he smelled or tasted each sentence he was in the process of constructing, and if one suited, he seemed to spell it out in the air, where Kahn would catch it. A long discussion would inevitably follow.
For the class these were exciting as well as exasperating exchanges. Gabor’s initial comments were always enigmatic, and the members of the teaching team seldom agreed with one another. In this whirlwind of opinions, one’s own thoughts needed to be very strong and well constructed to survive the discourse. Norman Rice was usually the first to give in, perhaps because he was tired or not particularly interested in the topic. Le Ricolais was stubborn and never gave in, but I had the feeling that it was not as important to him to win the debate or to make Kahn see the issue at hand from another angle. The discussions set off by one of Gabor’s sentences could go on forever, for as long as Kahn sensed a discovery was still in the air. I think Kahn hated to concede, so in this situation there was seldom a conclusion or agreement. But while the debate would remain unsettled, it had nevertheless served to draw inspiration from everyone. By the end of each session, despite all the open questions, a new layer of awareness had in fact entered our projects.”
From Book - Kahn at Penn - Transformative Teacher of Architecture by James Williamson, Published October 2016.
“Gabor Antala Szalontay was a tall, gaunt, eastern European with dark, penetrating eyes and long black hair who went by the single name Gabor. Some said he was an architect, and a persistent rumor held him to be a Hungarian count.”
For those interested: Here’s a website with a fragment of text from the book “Louis I. Kahn Talks with Students”, 1967.
https://ricehistorycorner.com/2018/04/19/louis-i-kahn-talks-with-students-1967/
Gabor was very much in Lou’s ear…
Photo taken by and shared by David S. Traub - an Architect and student in Kahn’s Master Class. Photo taken mid 2017 - before Gabor’s bike accident.
MORE EXCERPTS TO COME…