Anne Tyng facts for kids

Anne Griswold Tyng (July 14, 1920 – December 27, 2011) was an important architect and professor. She is well known for working with the famous architect Louis Kahn for 29 years in Philadelphia. She also taught at the University of Pennsylvania for 27 years. There, she taught about how cities and buildings are shaped. Anne Tyng was a member of the American Institute of Architects. She was also the first woman to get an architect's license in Pennsylvania.

Early Life and Education

Anne Tyng was born in 1920 in Lushan, Jiangxi province, China. Her parents, Ethel Atkinson and Walworth Tyng, were missionaries there.

Becoming an Architect

Tyng earned her first degree from Radcliffe College in 1942. She then studied architecture at Harvard University with famous architects like Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. In 1944, she was one of the first women to graduate from Harvard's architecture program.

In 1949, Anne Tyng was the only woman taking the architecture licensing exam. She faced challenges during the test, but she passed. Later, in 1975, she earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Her special study was about how math and patterns appear in nature and design.

Designing with Math and Geometry

Anne Tyng was a brilliant thinker who loved mathematics. She was a pioneer in using space frame architecture. This style uses connected geometric shapes to create light and open spaces. She was very interested in platonic solids, which are perfect 3D shapes.

She also designed an addition to her parents' farmhouse. For this, she used a special three-dimensional truss system. This was a new way to build a traditional peaked roof.

Anne Tyng with Louis Kahn, 1947

Working with Louis Kahn

In 1945, Tyng moved to Philadelphia and started working at Louis Kahn's architecture firm. Her love for complex geometric shapes greatly influenced many projects. This included the five cube-shaped buildings of the Trenton Bath House. It also influenced the triangular ceiling of the Yale Art Gallery.

Tyng also said that the idea for Kahn's famous "City Tower" design came mostly from her. She also worked with Kahn on the Wharton Esherick Studio and Erdman Hall at Bryn Mawr College.

The Tyng Toy

Anne Tyng showed her design skills early on. At age 27, she invented the Tyng Toy. This was a building set for children. It had a few plywood pieces that could be put together in many ways. Children could make anything from a stool to a rocking horse.

Studying in Italy

In 1953, Anne Tyng traveled to Italy. There, she studied with the famous engineer and architect, Pier Luigi Nervi. While in Italy, her daughter, Alexandra Tyng, was born.

Later Projects and Recognition

Tyng designed the Four-Poster House in Mount Desert Island, Maine. She used logs and cedar to make the house blend in with nature. The house was built around four main columns, each made from a group of tree trunks. The entire top floor was a master bedroom.

Her own home in Philadelphia, known as the Tyng House, also shows her unique style. It has a pyramid-shaped wooden ceiling and special slotted windows. The staircase uses metal screens, similar to those she chose for the Yale Art Gallery.

In 1965, Anne Tyng was the first woman to receive a grant from the Graham Foundation. Buckminster Fuller, another famous designer, called her "Kahn's geometrical strategist."

In 1989, Tyng wrote an important essay called "From Muse to Heroine." In it, she explored how women architects develop their creative roles. She wrote about the challenges women faced in architecture.

In 2010, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia held a special show about her work.

Anne Tyng and the Kahn Documentary

Anne Tyng's important influence on Louis Kahn's work was recognized more widely later in her life. She was often called Kahn's partner and inspiration.

When she was 82, Anne Tyng appeared in a documentary film called My Architect. This film was made by Nathaniel Kahn, Louis Kahn's son. In the film, Tyng shared her ideas about Louis Kahn's work and her experiences working with him.

During the filming, Tyng visited the Trenton Bath House for the first time since it was built. This was a building she and Kahn worked on together. She found it in poor condition. Because the film brought attention to the bath house, it was fully repaired in 2009.

See also

In Spanish: Anne Tyng para niños