Three Widows and a funeral

中文版

Wright can be portrayed as a tragic hero because he was very talented in the architectural world but suffered a lack of clients. He was world famous yet notorious. 

Another tragic hero is Louis Kahn (1901-1974). Kahn is undeniably one of the greatest modern architects. Kahn's architectural style was bold and pure. He re-introduced monumentality into modern architecture. Unfortunately, he had very few completed works and he died deeply in debt.


Kahn’s known works include the National Assembly Building in Bangladesh and Salk Institute Biological Research Centre.

Wright had three wives and one mistress who was previously his clients’ wife. One may consider this “immoral” and this caused many of his clients to flee from him. The poor wife of Wright and their six children were left abandoned and with a large amount of debt.

Three Widows and a funeral

Kahn juggled three women in his life simultaneously. Just managing to cope with three women and families alone would have been difficult not to mention the bankruptcy he often faced.. In addition to these long-term relationships, Kahn often had numerous girlfriends.


When he was three years old, Kahn was caught in a fire and consequently, suffered a face disfigurement. He was not your typical attractive and indulgent womaniser. He served to prove that architects share three common features; poverty, artistic quirkiness and lust.


Both of Kahn’s mistresses were his staff members. One was a building architect while the other was a landscape architect. Kahn fathered children with both women but did not do much to support their upbringing.

It was only at Kahn’s funeral where all three women met for the very first time. Kahn's wife sent word through friends that neither her husband's other children nor their mothers were welcome at Kahn's funeral. They showed up anyway, and were given seats at the rear of the funeral parlor. This funeral scene could be taken straight out of a soap opera.


Kahn's wife was a medical researcher and she even used her income to assist Kahn’s architecture firm. Kahn even resorted to moving in to his mother-in-law’s house to save money.



The mistress, who was also a building architect, was named Anne Tyng. She was also an interesting figure. In 1920, who was born in Lushan, China. In 1942 she became the first woman to ever be admitted into the Harvard School of Architecture. Her professor at the time was Gropius. Later, Tyng became the only female registered architect in Pennsylvania. Tyng is also considered to be a huge influence and contributor to many of Kahn's works.


In 2003, the son of the landscape architect shoot a documentary called My Architect, which described his pursuit to track down his long-absent father.