Helmut Jahn

Helmut Jahn (born January 4 1940) is a German-American architect, designer of dozens of major buildings throughout the world.

Some of the better known among his creations are the US$800 million Sony Center on the Potsdamer Platz, Berlin, the Messeturm in Frankfurt and the One Liberty Place, formerly the tallest building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Jahn was born in Nuremberg, Germany in 1940. After attending the Technical University of Munich from 1960 to 1965 he worked with Peter C. von Seidlein for a year. In 1966 he emigrated to Chicago to further study architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, leaving school without earning his degree.

In 1967 he joined C. F. Murphy Associates as a protégé of Gene Summers and was appointed Executive Vice President and Director of Planning and Design of the firm in 1973. In 1981 the firm was renamed Murphy/Jahn, although Murphy died a few years later in 1985, leaving Jahn in control. Despite a rocky start when the roof of his first major project Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri collapsed in 1979, Jahn established his pre-eminent reputation in 1985 with the State of Illinois Center in Chicago which prompted him to be dubbed "Flash Gordon." [http://www.architectureweek.com/2002/0717/design_1-1.html] .

Though maintaining his office in Chicago under the Murphy/Jahn moniker, Jahn has grown the business into a global architectural practice that consistently ranks among the top 20 architectural firms in terms of gross annual billings.

Completed projects

Following is a partial list of completed projects [http://www.tcaup.umich.edu/newsevents/2002/jahncv.doc] and supplemented by the official Murphy/Jahn website [http://murphy/jahn.com/] and the Emporis list [http://www.emporis.com/en/cd/cm/?id=100902] :
*1974 Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri
*1976 Auraria Learning Resources Center, Auraria Higher Education Center, Denver, Colorado
*1977 Saint Mary's College Athletic Facility, South Bend, Indiana( [http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/jahn/jahn.html pictures] )
*1980 Xerox Center (55 West Monroe), Chicago, Illinois
*1983 First Source Centre, South Bend, Indiana [http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/jahn/jahn2.html]
*1983 11 Diagonal Street, Johannesburg, South Africa [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=103546]
*1984 O'Hare 'L' Station, O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois
*1985 James R. Thompson Center, Chicago, Illinois
*1986 362 West Street, Durban, South Africa
*1986 Oakbrook Terrace Tower, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=126138]
*1987 Park Avenue Tower, New York, New York [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=114550]
*1987 425 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=115214]
*1987 at O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois
*1987 One Liberty Place, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*1987 Cityspire, New York, New York [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=114433]
*1988 Wilshire/Westwood, Los Angeles, California
*1990 Bank of America Tower, Jacksonville, Florida [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=106361]
*1990 Two Liberty Place, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=117968]
*1991 Messeturm, Frankfurt, Germany
*1993 Hitachi Tower, Singapore [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=106361]
*1993 Caltex House, Singapore
*1994 Hotel Kempinski, Munich, Germany
*1994 Kurfürstendamm 70, Berlin, Germany
*1997 RCID Administration Building, Orlando, Florida
*1998 Generale Bank Nederland, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
*1999 European Union Headquarters, Brussels
*1999 Munich Airport Center, Germany
*2000 Sony Center Berlin, Germany
*2000 Cologne Bonn Airport, Cologne (Köln), Germany
*2000 HA·LO Headquarters (presently the headquarters of Shure), Niles, Illinois
*2000 Neues Kranzler Eck, Berlin, Germany
*2002 Kaufhof Galeria, Chemnitz, Germany
*2002 Shanghai International Expo Centre, Shanghai, China
*2002 Bayer AG Konzernzentrale [http://www.leverkusen.com/guide/Archiv1.txt/Lev00294.html] , Leverkusen, Germany
*2003 Deutsche Post Tower, Bonn, Germany
*2003 IIT Student Housing, Chicago, Illinois
*2003 Highlight Munich Business Towers, Munich, Germany
*2004 Horizon Serono, Geneva, Switzerland
*2006 Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, Thailand
*2007 600 North Fairbanks, Chicago, IL USA

Awards

* 1991 - "Ten Most Influential Living American Architects" from the American Institute of Architects
* 1993 - "Outstanding Achievement/Architect Award" from the Illinois Academy of Fine Arts
* 1994 - "Bundesverdienstkreuz Erster Klasse" of the Federal Republic of Germany
* 2002 - Institute Honour Award of the American Institute of Architects for the Sony Center.
* 2005 - Murphy/Jahn, Inc. recipient of the AIA Architecture Firm Award.

Criticisms

His design of State Street Village at the Illinois Institute of Technology was met with mixed criticism of delight and disappointment. Some of the criticism from residents included the materials used for flooring, size of the rooms, lack of adequate cooling, and exorbitant rates for student housing. Flaws in Jahn's design were blamed for construction going over budget and led to the high rates.Fact|date=June 2008 Some even question his own view of SSV.Fact|date=June 2008

External links

* [http://www.murphyjahn.com/ Murphy/Jahn] official website.
* [http://www.architectureweek.com/2002/0717/design_1-1.html "The New Modernism of Helmut Jahn"]
*
* [http://www.emporis.com/en/cd/cm/?id=100902 Murphy/Jahn portfolio on Emporis]
* [http://projectchicago.org/database/LOOP/0013/index.html#TOP projectchicago.org entry: 120 North LaSalle building]
* [http://projectchicago.org/database/DOUG/0002/index.html#TOP projectchicago.org entry: State Street Village]
* [http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/bts/archives/offices/06_highlightMunich/overview.asp construction.com entry: Highlight towers]