How scientists lifted the shadow from Louis Kahn's most famous building Situated high on a bluff outside San Diego, a perfectly symmetrical canyon of raw concrete rises four stories from a travertine plaza. Down its center, a stream?known as the ?channel of life??traces a path that appears to vanish into the Pacific. This is the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and it is widely considered to be the consummate work of celebrated midcentury architect Louis I. Kahn.

The dramatic setting and stylistic departure from its Southern California neighbors make the Salk Institute the quintessential architectural pilgrimage site. Thousands come every year for an experience that borders on spiritual. The building is evidence of the unique partnership Kahn formed with Dr. Jonas Salk, the developer of the first polio vaccine?their shared appreciation of nature and technology led them to collaborate on what is not only one of the great structures of the 20th century, but also one of the most important centers for biological research on the planet.
Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla

In many ways, the building has been easy to manage because it was so ahead of its time when it opened in 1963, says Tim Ball, senior facilities director at the Salk since 2008 and the building?s passionate steward. He points to Kahn?s prescient embrace of sustainable technologies: The offices are designed to siphon breezes from the ocean, green roofs stealthily stitch across the campu...