Sad news breaking today from the suburbs. Helmut Jahn has died. For those of you who didn't instantly recognize the name, let me jog your memories. Terminal 1 at O'Hare? The dorms at the Illinois Institute of Technology? The Thompson Center? Those were all designed by him. Born in Germany in 1940, he made his way to Chicago in 1966 to study at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Upon leaving school, he started working with Charles Murphy's firm. He was named an Executive Vice President of the firm in 1973. Soon after that, he started designing buildings. He would do so for the next decade until Chicago came calling. The State of Illinois was building a new government headquarters in the city of Chicago, and Jahn was tasked with designing it. The result was the James R. Thompson Center(known as the State of Illinois Building at the time). With stunning interior views, plenty of office space, and poorly insulated windows, the building easily generated strong opinions about it. Afterwards, Jahn's star continued to rise. Acquiring the nickname 'Flash Gordon', he would go on to design buildings in America, as well as far-flung destinations such as Berlin, Bangkok, and Singapore. He even found the time to get involved in sailing, even having one of his boats win the Chicago to Mackinac race in 1995. He would continue to design buildings and serve as an influential figure in the world of architecture up until his death on May 8, 2021.
