FDR's uplifting wartime speech was translated into a sublime space for reflection by Kahn's design, which features simple planes of granite forming a walkway that seemingly leads above the fray of New York. Completed posthumously, the park's focus is "the room," an open-air chamber surrounded by 12-foot-high walls of granite that stands as one of Kahn's most transformative monuments. Photo 5 of 11 in Design Icon: 9 Buildings by Louis Kahn

Design Icon: 9 Buildings by Louis Kahn

5 of 11

FDR's uplifting wartime speech was translated into a sublime space for reflection by Kahn's design, which features simple planes of granite forming a walkway that seemingly leads above the fray of New York. Completed posthumously, the park's focus is "the room," an open-air chamber surrounded by 12-foot-high walls of granite that stands as one of Kahn's most transformative monuments.