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

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 on Potsdamer Platz 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 Eu ...

in Frankfurt, Germany; the Thompson Center in Chicago; One Liberty Place in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania; and Suvarnabhumi Airport, in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, 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 estim ...

, Thailand, among others. His recent projects included 50 West Street, a residential tower in New York City in 2016 and the ThyssenKrupp Test Tower in Rottweil, Germany in 2017. He was also behind 1000M in Chicago which began construction in 2019.

Life and career

Jahn was born January 4, 1940, in Zirndorf, near

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

, 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 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 and Fazlur Khan at the

Illinois Institute of Technology The Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Illinois Tech and IIT, is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the m ...

on a Rotary Scholarship, earning a Master's degree in 1967.

Murphy/Jahn

Jahn joined Charles Francis Murphy'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 after being hit by two cars on May 8, 2021, while riding his bicycle in Campton Hills, 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 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect, academic, and interior designer. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. He is regarded as one of the pionee ...

, yet opposed to the doctrinal application of

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

by his followers, in 1978, Jahn became the eighth member of the Chicago Seven. His architectural style shifted from the

of the Miesian tradition to a

postmodernist Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...

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,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

*1976 Kansas City Convention Center, also known as H. Roe Bartle Exhibition Hall,

Miller, Nory. Helmut Jahn. New York: NY Rizzoli International Publications Inc. 1986. Print *1976 Auraria Learning Resources Center, Auraria Higher Education Center,

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

*1976 John Marshall Courts Building,

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

*1977 Michigan City Public Library,

Michigan City, Indiana Michigan City is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. It had a population of 32,075 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along Lake Michigan in the Michiana region, the city is about east of Chicago and is west o ...

*1977 Saint Mary's College Athletic Facility,

Notre Dame, Indiana Notre Dame is a census-designated place and unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's Co ...

*1978 W.W. Grainger Headquarters,

Skokie, Illinois Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a Village (United States), village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's dow ...

*1978 Rust-Oleum Corporation International Headquarters,

Vernon Hills, Illinois Vernon Hills is a suburb north of Chicago, Illinois in Lake County, Illinois, 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, Illinois ...

*1978 La Lumiere Gymnasium,

La Porte, Indiana La Porte () is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States, of which it is the county seat. Its population was estimated to be 21,341 in 2022. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, Indiana metropolitan stat ...

*1979 Imperial Bank Tower

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "coastal tableland") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including ...

*1980 Horizon Bank (515 Franklin Street Bank)

*1980 Xerox Centre, (55 West Monroe St) Chicago, IL *1981 United States Post Office, Oak Brook, Illinois *1981 De La Garza Career Center,

East Chicago, Indiana East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 26,370 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Centered around heavy industry, the city is home to the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwa ...

*1981 Commonwealth Edison Company District Headquarters, Bolingbrook, Illinois *1982 Argonne Program Support Facility,

Argonne National Laboratory Argonne National Laboratory is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Lemont, Illinois, Lemont, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1946, the laboratory is owned by the United Sta ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

*1982 Eagle River Vacation House (The Jahn House),

Eagle River, Wisconsin Eagle River is a city and the county seat of Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,628 at the 2020 census. Because of the many lakes in the area, the city is a popular vacation and retirement destination. The area contai ...

*1982 Area 2 Police Headquarters, Chicago *1982

Chicago Board of Trade The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), is an American futures exchange, futures and options exchange that was founded in 1848. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other excha ...

Addition, Chicago *1982 One South Wacker, Chicago *1983 Agricultural Engineering Sciences Building Addition

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

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

*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 satellite campuses in Addison, Illinois, Addison, Carol St ...

, Glen Ellyn, Illinois *1983 First Source Centre, South Bend, Indiana *1984 11 Diagonal Street,

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, South Africa *1984 Plaza East Office Towers,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, WI *1984 Shand Morahan Corporate Headquarters,

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

*1984 701 Building (Craig-Hallom Building),

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, MN *1984 O'Hare 'L' Station, O'Hare International Airport, Chicago *1985 James R. Thompson Center, Chicago *1985 362 West Street,

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

, 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 a southwestern suburb of Chicago located west of the city on the DuPage River. As of the 2020 United State ...

*1986 Oakbrook Terrace Tower,

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

*1987 Park Avenue Tower, New York, NY *1987 425 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY *1987 United Airlines Terminal 1 at

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...

, Chicago *1987 America Apartments – 300 East 85th Street, New York, NY *1987 One Liberty Place,

, PA *1987 Cityspire, New York, NY *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, New York, U.S. Built in 1977 for Citibank, it is tall and has ...

, Chicago *1988 Wilshire-Midvale, Los Angeles, CA *1989 Trade Hall 1 (Halle 1),

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, Germany *1989

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a New York state public benefit corporations, public benefit corporation in New York (state), New York State responsible for public transportation in the New York metropolitan area, New York Ci ...

Headquarters, 130 Livingston Street, Brooklyn, NY *1990 Bank of America Tower, Jacksonville, Florida *1990 Two Liberty Place, Philadelphia *1991 One America Plaza, San Diego, CA *1991

, Frankfurt, Germany *1992 Hyatt Regency, Roissy, Paris, France *1992 120 North LaSalle, Chicago *1993 Hitachi Tower, Singapore *1993 Caltex House, Singapore *1994 Hotel Kempinski, Munich, Germany *1994 Kurfürstendamm 70,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

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

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, Netherlands *1996 Principal Financial Group Corporate Four Building,

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

*1997 RCID Administration Building, Buena Vista, Florida *1998 Generale Bank Nederland,

, Netherlands *1999 European Union Charlemagne building, Brussels, Belgium *1999 Munich Airport Center, Germany *2000 Sony Center Berlin, Germany *2000 Cologne Bonn Airport,

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany *2000 HA·LO Headquarters (presently the headquarters of Shure), Niles, Illinois *2000 Imperial Bank Tower Renovation,

Blaser, Werner. Helmut Jahn Architecture Engineering. Basel, Berlin, Boston: Birkhauser Publishers for Architecture. 2002. Print *2001 Neues Kranzler Eck,

, Germany *2002 Kaufhof Galeria,

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

, 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 language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

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

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

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

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

, Germany *2006 Suvarnabhumi Airport,

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

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

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

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, Germany *2010 Veer Towers,

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an Unincorporated towns in Nevada, unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the ...

USA *2010 Weser Tower,

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

, Germany *2010 Bonn Airport Parking,

, Germany *2011 Joe and Rika Mansueto Library, Chicago *2012 Leatop Plaza,

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, China *2012 Skyline Tower,

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany *2012

Japan Post was a Japanese statutory corporation that existed from 2003 to 2007, offering postal and package delivery services, Retail banking, banking services, and life insurance. It is the nation's largest employer, with over 400,000 employees, and ru ...

, Tokyo, Japan *2013 Cosmopolitan Twarda 2/4,

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Poland *2014 Zunda Towers,

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, Latvia *2016 Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, Qatar *2016 Shanghai Convention Center, Shanghai, China *2016 50 West Street, New York, NY *2017 ThyssenKrupp Test Tower, Rottweil, Germany *2017 1900 Reston Station, Reston, Virginia *2024 1000M, Chicago, IL 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. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

. *1993 – "Outstanding Achievement/Architect Award" from the American Academy of Art, 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 (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

*2002 – Institute Honour Award of the

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 recreational boating activities using medium/large-sized boats or small ships collectively called yachts. Yachting is distinguished from other forms of boating mainly by the priority focus on comfort and luxury, the dependence on ma ...

, 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. It was the Farr 40 design yacht called ''Flash Gordon 6'' that he had the most success winning the 2012 Farr 40 World Championship and they captured three straight North American Championship between 2015 and 2017. 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,

(Fair Tower),

Image:Posttower Bonn 001.jpg, The Post Tower (Postal Tower),

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

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 Emigrants from West Germany 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 Farr 40 class world champions World champions in sailing for the United States Bavarian emigrants to the United States