Helmut Jahn (January 4, 1940 – May 8, 2021) was a

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, known for projects such as the

Sony Center The Sony Center is a Sony-sponsored complex of eight buildings located at the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany, designed by Helmut Jahn. It opened in 2000 and houses Sony's German headquarters. The cinemas in the center were closed at the end ...

Potsdamer Platz Potsdamer Platz (, ''Potsdam Square'') is a public square and traffic intersection in the center of Berlin, Germany, lying about south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (German Parliament Building), and close to the southeast corn ...

in Berlin, Germany; the

Messeturm The Messeturm, or Trade Fair Tower, is a 63-storey, skyscraper in the Westend-Süd district of Frankfurt, Germany. It is the second tallest building in Frankfurt, the second tallest building in Germany and the third tallest building in the E ...

in Frankfurt, Germany; the Thompson Center in Chicago;

One Liberty Place Liberty Place is a skyscraper complex in Philadelphia. The complex is composed of a 61-story, skyscraper called One Liberty Place, a 58-story, skyscraper called Two Liberty Place, a two-story shopping mall called the Shops at Liberty Place, a ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, Pennsylvania; and Suvarnabhumi Airport, in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, among others. His recent projects included

50 West Street 50 West Street is a 64-story, tall mixed-use retail and residential condominium tower developed by Time Equities Inc. in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It contains 191 residential units. Site The building is located on 50 West Street, in the ...

, a residential tower in New York City in 2016 and the ThyssenKrupp Test Tower in Rottweil, Germany in 2017.

Life and career

Jahn was born Jan. 4, 1940 in

Zirndorf Zirndorf () is a town, which is part of the district of Fürth. It is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the Regierungsbezirk of Middle Franconia. Neighbouring municipalities The following towns and municipalities share borders with Zirn ...

, near

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, Germany. His father, Wilhelm Anton Jahn, was a schoolteacher in special education. His mother, Karolina Wirth, was a housewife. Jahn grew up watching the reconstruction of the city, which had been largely destroyed by Allied bombing campaigns. He studied architecture at the

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Establis ...

from 1960 to 1965, and worked with for a year after graduation. In 1966, he went to Chicago to further study architecture under

Myron Goldsmith Myron Goldsmith (September 15, 1918 – July 15, 1996) was an American architect and designer.David W. DunlaJuly 17, 1996 New York Times He was a student of Mies van der Rohe and Pier Luigi Nervi before designing 40 projects at Skidmore, Owings & ...

and Fazlur Khan at the

Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...

on a

Rotary Scholarship Rotary International offers a number of scholarships worldwide for periods of 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years. Ambassadorial Mission The purpose of the Ambassadorial Scholarship was to further international understanding and friendly rela ...

, earning a Master's degree in 1967.

Murphy/Jahn

Jahn joined

Charles Francis Murphy Charles Francis "Silent Charlie" Murphy (June 20, 1858 – April 25, 1924), also known as Boss Murphy, was an American political figure. He was also the longest-serving head of New York City's Tammany Hall, a position he served from 1902 to 192 ...

's architecture firm, C. F. Murphy Associates, in 1967 and was appointed Executive Vice President and Director of Planning and Design of the firm in 1973. He took sole control in 1981, renaming the firm Murphy/Jahn (even though Murphy had retired). Murphy died in 1985.

Death

Jahn was killed on May 8, 2021, while riding his bicycle in

Campton Hills Campton Hills is a village (United States), village in Kane County, Illinois and is a western suburb of Chicago. The population of the village is 11,131 per the 2010 US Census. The village was established on May 14, 2007, by municipal corporation ...

, a suburb of Chicago. The collision happened near his home and horse farm in St. Charles, Illinois, a Chicago suburb.

Architectural style and influences

Generally inspired by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, yet opposed to the

doctrinal Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system ...

application of

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

by his followers, in 1978, Jahn became the eighth member of the

Chicago Seven The Chicago Seven, originally the Chicago Eight and also known as the Conspiracy Eight or Conspiracy Seven, were seven defendants—Rennie Davis, David Dellinger, John Froines, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, and Lee Weiner—charged by ...

. His architectural style shifted from the

of the

Miesian Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Llo ...

tradition to a

postmodernist Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of modern ...

one with high-tech stylizations. Jahn established his reputation in 1985 with the State of Illinois Center in Chicago which prompted him to be dubbed " Flash Gordon". In addition to the main seat in Chicago, the company has offices in Berlin and Shanghai. On October 26, 2012, Helmut Jahn renamed Murphy/Jahn to simply JAHN.

Completed projects

Following is a partial list of completed projects: *1974

Kemper Arena The Hy-Vee Arena, previously known as Kemper Arena, is an indoor arena located in Kansas City, Missouri. Prior to conversion to a youth sports and community gymnasium facility, Kemper Arena was previously a 19,500-seat professional sports arena ...

, Kansas City, Missouri *1976

Kansas City Convention Center The Kansas City Convention Center, originally Bartle Hall Convention Center or Bartle Hall, is a major convention center in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, USA. It was named for Harold Roe Bartle, a prominent, two-term mayor of Kansas City in t ...

, also known as H. Roe Bartle Exhibition Hall, Kansas City, MissouriMiller, Nory. Helmut Jahn. New York: NY Rizzoli International Publications Inc. 1986. Print *1976 Auraria Learning Resources Center,

Auraria Higher Education Center Auraria may refer to: *Auraria, Georgia, a town in Lumpkin County, Georgia, United States *Auraria, Denver Auraria was a small mining settlement in the Kansas Territory in the United States. Today it survives in its original location as a neigh ...

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

*1976 John Marshall Courts Building, Richmond, Virginia *1977 Michigan City Public Library, Michigan City, Indiana *1977 Saint Mary's College Athletic Facility, Notre Dame, Indiana *1978 W.W. Grainger Headquarters,

Skokie, Illinois Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, neighboring the City of Chicago's northern border. Its population, according to the 2020 census, was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's do ...

*1978 Rust-Oleum Corporation International Headquarters,

Vernon Hills, Illinois Vernon Hills is a suburb north of Chicago, Illinois in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,850 at the 2020 census. Vernon Hills serves as a retail hub for its surrounding area ( Libertyville, Lake Forest, Long Grove, Lin ...

*1978 La Lumiere Gymnasium, La Porte, Indiana *1979 Imperial Bank Tower Costa Mesa, California *1980 Horizon Bank (515 5th Street Bank) Michigan City, Indiana *1980 Xerox Centre, (55 West Monroe St) Chicago *1981 United States Post Office,

Oak Brook, Illinois Oak Brook is a village mostly in DuPage County with a small portion in Cook County in Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 8,163. This suburb of Chicago has the headquarters of several companies and organizations including Ace Ha ...

*1981 De La Garza Career Center,

East Chicago, Indiana East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census. The city is home of the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwater harbor characterized by industrial and manufacturing ac ...

*1981 Commonwealth Edison Company District Headquarters,

Bolingbrook, Illinois The village of Bolingbrook is a southwest suburb of Chicago in Will and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 73,922. As of 2010, it is the 17th largest incorporated place in Illinois and the sta ...

*1982 Argonne Program Support Facility, Argonne National Laboratory,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

*1982 Eagle River Vacation House (The Jahn House)

Eagle River, Wisconsin Eagle River is a city in Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,398 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Vilas County. Because of the many lakes in the area, the city is a popular vacation and retirement destinat ...

*1982 Area 2 Police Headquarters, Chicago *1982 Chicago Board of Trade Addition Chicago *1982

One South Wacker __NOTOC__ One South Wacker is a 550 ft (168 m) tall skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was constructed from 1979 to 1982 and has 40 floors. Murphy/Jahn, Inc. Architects designed the building, which is tied for the 72nd tallest ...

Chicago *1983 Agricultural Engineering Sciences Building Addition

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metro ...

*1983 Learning Resources Center,

College of DuPage College of DuPage is a Public college, public community colleges in the United States, community college with its main campus in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The college also owns and operates facilities in the Illinois communities of Addison, Illinois ...

, Glen Ellyn, Illinois *1983 First Source Centre,

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

*1984

11 Diagonal Street 11 Diagonal Street is a skyscraper in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was built in 1983 to a height of 80 metres. It is designed to look like a diamond as it reflects different views of the Central Business District from each angle of the building. ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

, South Africa *1984 Plaza East Office Towers,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

*1984 Shand Morahan Corporate Headquarters,

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

*1984 701 Building (Craig-Hallom Building),

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

*1984 O'Hare 'L' Station, O'Hare International Airport, Chicago *1985

James R. Thompson Center The James R. Thompson Center (JRTC), originally the State of Illinois Center, is a postmodern-style civic building designed by architect Helmut Jahn, located at 100 W. Randolph Street in the Loop district of Chicago. It houses offices of the Ill ...

, Chicago *1985 362 West Street,

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, South Africa *1986 Parktown Stands 102, 103, 85, 879,

, South Africa *1986 MetroWest Office Building (2 Energy Center),

Naperville, Illinois Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is in the Chicago metro area, west of the city. Naperville was founded in 1831 by Joseph Naper. The city was ...

*1986 Oakbrook Terrace Tower,

Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois Oakbrook Terrace is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, and is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 2,751. It is the smallest town in DuPage County, in terms of area and population. History Oakbrook Terrace was originall ...

*1987

Park Avenue Tower Park Avenue Tower (also 65 East 55th Street) is a building on Park Avenue, between 55th Street and 56th Street, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The office building developed by Park Tower Realty opened in 1986 and has a height of . Park Ave ...

, New York City *1987 425 Lexington Avenue, New York City *1987 United Airlines Terminal 1 at O'Hare International Airport, Chicago *1987 America Apartments – 300 East 85th Street, New York, NY *1987

*1987

Cityspire CitySpire (also known as CitySpire Center) is a mixed-use skyscraper at 150 West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Completed in 1990 and designed by Murphy/Jahn Architects, the building ...

, New York City *1987

Citigroup Center The Citigroup Center (formerly Citicorp Center and also known by its address, 601 Lexington Avenue) is an office skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built in 1977 to house the headquarters of Citibank, it is t ...

, Chicago *1988 Wilshire/Westwood, Los Angeles *1989 Trade Hall 1 (Halle 1),

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

, Germany *1989

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...

Headquarters, 130 Livingston Street, Downtown Brooklyn *1990 Bank of America Tower, Jacksonville, Florida *1990

Two Liberty Place Liberty Place is a skyscraper complex in Philadelphia. The complex is composed of a 61-story, skyscraper called One Liberty Place, a 58-story, skyscraper called Two Liberty Place, a two-story shopping mall called the Shops at Liberty Place, a ...

, Philadelphia *1991

One America Plaza One America Plaza is the tallest building in San Diego, California and a prominent fixture in the waterfront district of the downtown San Diego skyline. The 34-story, , , obelisk-shaped tower was designed by Helmut Jahn of Murphy/Jahn Architects ...

, San Diego *1991

, Frankfurt, Germany *1992 Hyatt Regency, Roissy, Paris *1992 120 North LaSalle, Chicago, Illinois *1993 Hitachi Tower, Singapore *1993 Caltex House, Singapore *1994 Hotel

Kempinski Kempinski Hotels S.A., commonly known as Kempinski, is a luxury hotel management company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in Berlin in 1897 as the ''Hotelbetriebs-Aktiengesellschaft'', the group currently operates 78 five-star ho ...

, Munich, Germany *1994 Kurfürstendamm 70,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Germany *1996 Fortis Bank Tower (Blaak 555),

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

, Netherlands *1996 Principal Financial Group Corporate Four Building,

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

*1997

RCID Administration Building The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD), formerly the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), is the governing jurisdiction and special taxing district for the land of Walt Disney World Resort. It includes within Orange and Osce ...

, Buena Vista, Florida *1998 Generale Bank Nederland,

, Netherlands *1999 European Union Charlemagne building, Brussels, Belgium *1999

Munich Airport Munich International Airport- Franz Josef Strauß (german: link=no, Flughafen München) is an international airport serving Munich and Upper Bavaria. It is the second-busiest airport in Germany in terms of passenger traffic after Frankfurt A ...

Center, Germany *2000

Berlin, Germany *2000

Cologne Bonn Airport Cologne Bonn Airport (german: Flughafen Köln/Bonn 'Konrad Adenauer') is the international airport of Germany's fourth-largest city Cologne, and also serves Bonn, former capital of West Germany. With around 12.4 million passengers passing thr ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, Germany *2000 HA·LO Headquarters (presently the headquarters of

Shure Shure Incorporated is an American audio products corporation. It was founded by Sidney N. Shure in Chicago, Illinois, in 1925 as a supplier of radio parts kits. The company became a consumer and professional audio-electronics manufacturer of mi ...

Niles, Illinois Niles is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located in the townships of Maine and Niles, directly neighboring the City of Chicago's far northwest border. Per the 2020 census, the population was 30,912. The current mayor of Niles ...

*2000 Imperial Bank Tower Renovation, Costa Mesa, CaliforniaBlaser, Werner. Helmut Jahn Architecture Engineering. Basel, Berlin, Boston: Birkhauser Publishers for Architecture. 2002. Print *2001 Neues Kranzler Eck,

, Germany *2002 Kaufhof Galeria, Chemnitz, Germany *2002 Shanghai International Expo Centre, Shanghai, China *2002 Bayer AG Konzernzentrale *2003 Deutsche Post Tower, Bonn, Germany *2003 IIT Student Housing, Chicago *2003 Highlight Munich Business Towers, Munich, Germany *2004 Mannheimer Corporate Headquarters,

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

, Germany *2004 Merck Serono Headquarters (Horizon Serono),

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

, Switzerland *2005 Focus Media Center (Deutsche-Med-Platz),

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...

, Germany *2006 Suvarnabhumi Airport,

, Thailand *2006 Seminaris Campus Hotel, Berlin, Germany *2007 Margot and Harold Schiff Residences, Chicago *2007 600 North Fairbanks, Chicago, USA *2008 Hegau Tower, Singen, Germany *2009 South Campus Chiller Plant,

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

Chicago *2009 1999 K Street, Washington, D.C. *2010 Hafen Tower (Sign Tower), Speditionstrasse 1–3

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

, Germany *2010 Veer Towers, Paradise, Nevada USA *2010

Weser Tower The Weser Tower is a multistorey building in Bremen, designed by the American architect of German origin Helmut Jahn.Weser Tower

, Bremen, Germany *2010 Bonn Airport Parking,
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
, Germany *2011
Joe and Rika Mansueto Library The Joe and Rika Mansueto Library is the newest library of the University of Chicago, named after alumni Joe Mansueto and Rika Mansueto. The library has a capacity of 3.5 million volumes under an elliptical dome. It was designed by Helmut Jahn. H ...
, Chicago, USA *2012
Leatop Plaza Leatop Plaza (; ) is a 66- storey, late-modernist supertall skyscraper in Guangzhou, China. Leatop Plaza is placed on the site parallel to the East entrance at the central axis of Zhujiang New Town. The office tower has a floor pitch of . Th ...
,
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
, China *2012 Skyline Tower,
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
, Germany *2012
Japan Post was a Japanese statutory corporation that existed from 2003 to 2007, offering postal and package delivery services, banking services, and life insurance. It's the nation's largest employer, with over 400,000 employees, and runs 24,700 po ...
, Tokyo, Japan *2013
Cosmopolitan Twarda 2/4 Cosmopolitan Twarda 2/4, formerly known as Twarda Tower or Hines Tower, is a mainly residential skyscraper (160 meters high, 44 storeys) in central Warsaw, Poland. The project was developed by Tacit Development Polska. The tower includes 252 ap ...
,
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, Poland *2014
Zunda Towers The Zunda Towers (formerly known as the Z-Towers) are a pair of skyscrapers in Riga, Latvia. The buildings were designed by Latvian architectural firm F.L.Tadao & Lukševics, while the façade was designed by architect Helmut Jahn. Both tow ...
, Riga, Latvia *2016 Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, Qatar *2016 Shanghai Convention Center, Shanghai, China *2016
50 West Street 50 West Street is a 64-story, tall mixed-use retail and residential condominium tower developed by Time Equities Inc. in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It contains 191 residential units. Site The building is located on 50 West Street, in the ...
, New York City, USA *2017 ThyssenKrupp Test Tower, Rottweil, Germany *2017 1900 Reston Station, Reston, Virginia In his native town of Nuremberg, however, a project by Jahn was rejected by a citizens' referendum in 1996.

Select awards
*1991 – "Ten Most Influential Living American Architects" from the
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...
. *1993 – "Outstanding Achievement/Architect Award" from the
American Academy of Art The American Academy of Art College is a private art school in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1923 for the education of fine and commercial arts students. The school's Bill L. Parks Gallery is open to the public and features exhibitions ...
, Chicago. *1994 – Officer's cross of the
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...
*2002 – Institute Honour Award of the
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...
for the Sony Center. *2005 – Murphy/Jahn, Inc. recipient of the AIA Architecture Firm Award. *2005 – Pratt Institute Legends Award *2012 – AIA Chicago Lifetime Achievement Award *2018 – ENR Safety Award of Merit: 1900 Metro Reston Plaza

Personal life
Jahn was interested in
yachting Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called ''yachts'' for racing or cruising. Yachts are distinguished from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. "Yacht" derives from the Dutch word '' jacht'' ("hunt"). With sailboats, ...
, and in the late 1990s owned at least three yachts named '' Flash Gordon'' (one of his nicknames). In 1995, Jahn's ''Flash Gordon 2'' won the annual Chicago to Mackinac Race, the oldest freshwater yacht race in the world. In 1998, Jahn invited his fellow Vietnam War veteran, George Henry, to race with him in the Waterbury Channel Open. In 1997, ''Flash Gordon 3'' won the
Admiral's Cup The Admiral's Cup was an international yachting regatta. For many years it was known as the unofficial world championship of offshore racing. The Admiral's Cup regatta was started in 1957 and was normally a biennial event (occurring in odd-numbe ...
. In 2017 the ''Flash Gordon 6'' team captured its third straight North American Championship. He married Deborah Ann Lampe, an interior designer, in December 1970. Their son Evan was born in 1978.

Images
Image:Frankfurt am Main Messeturm.jpg,
Messeturm The Messeturm, or Trade Fair Tower, is a 63-storey, skyscraper in the Westend-Süd district of Frankfurt, Germany. It is the second tallest building in Frankfurt, the second tallest building in Germany and the third tallest building in the E ...
(Fair Tower),
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
Image:Posttower Bonn 001.jpg, The Post Tower (Postal Tower),
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
Image:Process progress.png, Exhibition "Process/Progress" Nuremberg, Germany 2012-2013

References

External links

Official website
*
Architect Helmut Jahn renames firm, promotes successorHighlight towers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jahn, Helmut 1940 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American architects Technical University of Munich alumni Illinois Institute of Technology alumni Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German emigrants to the United States 20th-century German architects 21st-century American architects 21st-century German architects People from Fürth (district) Road incident deaths in Illinois People from St. Charles, Illinois Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Postmodern architects