Louis Kahn

The greatest architect of the second half of the 20th century. What is now the Yale Art Gallery defines space by absorbing and adapting elements from traditional Far Eastern sources, specifically Japan. The Center for British Art on the other hand uses elements from the Near East, specifically Classical and Archaic Greece. The former is the envelope that contains the latter in this case. The latter being of course the round circular exposed staircase in the Mellon Centre for British Art. The mixing of the latter two is sublime. The great works in Dacca absorb from Indian tradition and create buildings that look as though they have been there for millennia.