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 on

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

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, 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, 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, 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 science, applied and Natural sci ...

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 on a Rotary Scholarship, 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 ...

'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 Murphy () ( ga, Ua Murchadha) is an Irish surname and the most common surname in the Republic of Ireland. Origins and variants The surname is a variant of two Irish surnames: "Ó Murchadha"/"Ó Murchadh" (descendant of "Murchadh"), and "Mac ...

had retired). Murphy died in 1985.

Death

Jahn was killed 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 St. Charles is a city in DuPage and Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It lies roughly west of Chicago on Illinois Route 64. Per the 2020 census, the population was 33,081. The official city slogan is "Pride of the Fox", after the ...

, 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. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloy ...

, yet opposed to the doctrinal application of

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

by his followers, in 1978, Jahn became the eighth member of the Chicago Seven. 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 Lloyd ...

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 Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established '' Buck Rogers'' adv ...

". 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 (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

*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 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 (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

*1977 Michigan City Public Library,

Michigan City, Indiana Michigan City is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City- La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan statistical area, which is included in the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City Combined st ...

*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 C ...

*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 d ...

*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 La Porte (French for "The Door") 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, India ...

*1979 Imperial Bank Tower

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for " Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John ...

*1980 Horizon Bank (515 5th Street Bank)

*1980 Xerox Centre, (55 West Monroe St) Chicago *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 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 *1982 Argonne Program Support Facility,

Argonne National Laboratory Argonne National Laboratory is a science and engineering research national laboratory operated by UChicago Argonne LLC for the United States Department of Energy. The facility is located in Lemont, Illinois, outside of Chicago, and is the l ...

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 Rock ...

*1982 Eagle River Vacation House (The Jahn House) Eagle River, Wisconsin *1982 Area 2 Police Headquarters, Chicago *1982

Chicago Board of Trade The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), established on April 3, 1848, is one of the world's oldest futures and options exchanges. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other exch ...

Addition Chicago *1982 One South Wacker 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 Uni ...

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 metrop ...

*1983 Learning Resources Center,

College of DuPage College of DuPage is a public community college with its main campus in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The college also owns and operates facilities in the Illinois communities of Addison, Carol Stream, Naperville and Westmont. With more than 20,000 ...

Glen Ellyn, Illinois Glen Ellyn is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. A suburb located due west of downtown Chicago, the village has a population of 28,846 as of the 2020 Census. History Glen Ellyn, like the neighboring town to the east, Lomb ...

*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,

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, 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#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

, 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 i ...

*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 origin ...

*1984 O'Hare 'L' Station, O'Hare International Airport, Chicago *1985 James R. Thompson Center, 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 *1987 Park Avenue Tower, New York City *1987 425 Lexington Avenue, New York City *1987 United Airlines Terminal 1 at

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop busines ...

, Chicago *1987 America Apartments – 300 East

85th Street 85th Street is a westbound-running street, running from East End Avenue to Riverside Drive (Manhattan), Riverside Drive in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. At Fifth Avenue, the street feeds into the 86th Street ...

, New York, NY *1987 One Liberty Place,

*1987 Cityspire, 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, 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 Messeturm, Frankfurt, Germany *1992 Hyatt Regency, Roissy, Paris *1992 120 North LaSalle, Chicago, Illinois *1993

Hitachi Tower 16 Collyer Quay, formerly Hitachi Tower, is a 37- storey, , skyscraper in the central business district of Singapore. It is located on 16 Collyer Quay, in the zone of Raffles Place, near Chevron House, Change Alley, Tung Centre, and The Arcad ...

, 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 ...

, Munich, Germany *1994 Kurfürstendamm 70,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

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

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

, 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 Moine ...

*1997 RCID Administration Building, 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 Sony Center 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,

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 German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany ...

, 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 Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

, 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 Singen ( Low Alemannic: ''Singe'') is an industrial city in the very south of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany and just north of the German-Swiss border. Location Singen is an industrial city situated in the very south of Baden-Württember ...

, Germany *2009 South Campus Chiller Plant,

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

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: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...

, Germany *2010

Veer Towers Veer Towers are twin 37-story, , residential towers located within CityCenter on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. Each tower houses 335 luxury condominium units ranging from . The two towers were designed by Murphy/Jahn Architects of Chica ...

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an 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 2020 census, making it the f ...

USA *2010 Weser Tower,

Bremen Bremen ( Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state cons ...

, Germany *2010 Bonn Airport Parking,

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

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

, 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 ...

, 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 pos ...

, 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 a ...

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 officiall ...

, Poland *2014 Zunda Towers,

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the ...

, Latvia *2016 Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, Qatar *2016 Shanghai Convention Center, Shanghai, China *2016 50 West Street, 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 s ...

. *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

for the Sony Center. *2005 – Murphy/Jahn, Inc. recipient of the AIA Architecture Firm Award. *2005 –

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was founded in 1887 ...

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 ''

'' (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 (Fair Tower),

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