Louis Kahn is universally recognised as one of the influential architects of the 20^th century. An Estonian Jew who grew up in the slums of Philadelphia, Kahn was severely scarred by burns as a child but overcame his self-consciousness to become a charismatic, womanising workaholic. A nomadic, obsessive, semi-mythical genius, Kahn died, almost penniless, on a tram station bench with his few possessions in a shabby suitcase.

His son interviews architecture luminaries such as Frank Gehry and Philip Johnson, and revisits his father's most famous projects. The tearful closing scenes in the Bangladesh capital, Dacca, add an almost religious dimension to Kahn's monumental legacy.