Kahn's YCBA Reopens at Yale

Visiting the building for the first time on a press tour on Tuesday, I was taken aback by the building, a dramatic tour de force where domestically scaled galleries ring two multi-story spaces: the four-story entrance court and, up one flight, the three-story library court. The latter is marked by a concrete cylinder housing the main stair, the most recognizable element in a building whose sedate exterior barely hints at the joys within.

Since the visit was my first, it was difficult to ascertain if the conservation work carried out by Knight Architecture with Peter Inskip + Peter Jenkins Architects departed from the original in any noticeable way. Yet according to remarks by Knight Architecture principal George Knight, any differences are slight, partly because the building had been so well maintained over the years.

Major changes focused on upgrading existing systems (air conditioning, plumbing, lighting) and introducing new ones (fire, security, internet), and reconfiguring gallery and office spaces to better serve visitors and staff. These included the transformation of the Long Gallery into a teaching and study gallery, creating a new Collections Seminar Room adjacent to the gallery, and refurbishing the Lecture Hall with new seats and seating layout. 

The Yale Center for British Art sits across the street from the Yale Art Gallery, which Kahn extended in 1953. Knight described these two commissions – two of only three museums completed by Kahn (the other being the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas) – as masterpieces that bookend the other masterpieces realized by Kahn in those years. Although unique buildings, they both feature cyclindrical stairs and together, with the YCBA open for the first time since 2015, they are a must-visit destination for fans of Louis I. Kahn.