German architect Helmut Jahn, lengthy a powerhouse of Midwest design, is lifeless at 81 after a deadly accident on Saturday afternoon. Jahn was reportedly struck by two automobiles whereas using his bicycle within the western Chicago suburb of Campton Hills and pronounced lifeless on the scene.
Jahn can be remembered for his eclectic and postmodern contributions to skylines all over the world, however particularly in Chicago; in 1978, he joined the “Chicago Seven,” a bunch of architects seeking to push again in opposition to the prevalence of modernism within the design world, alongside different heavy hitters like Stanley Tigerman, Ben Weese, and James Nagle.
Whereas the monumental James R. Thompson Heart in Chicago has captured headlines recently as state officers attempt to offload the 1.2-million-square-foot satellite tv for pc capitol complicated, Jahn’s terminal contributions to O’Hare Worldwide Airport, the cyberpunk-ish Sony Heart in Berlin, and crystal-topped Two Liberty Place in Philadelphia are just some of the main landmarks left behind by Jahn all over the world.
Jahn had actively been pushing to save lots of the Thompson Heart, releasing an adaptive reuse plan for the 17-story glass tower in February of final 12 months that might have turned the middle into a fancy containing flats and tech workplaces.
This can be a breaking information story and AN will observe this announcement with a extra in-depth obituary with remembrances from Jahn’s colleagues.