Jahn skyscraper chicago7/31/2023 ![]() In the late 1970s Jahn secured some major urban commissions that caused him to move from mat buildings to skyscrapers. This not only decreased the scale of the huge gymnasium (making it more compatible with the other low-profile buildings around it), but significantly improved its ability to retain heat. Mary's Athletic Facility in South Bend, Indiana (1977), was sunk well into the ground and surrounded by an earth berm. The shape reduced the building's heat loss during the winter and facilitated the entry of indirect northern light, thereby reducing the amount of energy needed to artificially illuminate the structure. This building was shaped like a truncated disk, sporting three rows of ribbon windows facing north. Similar louvers were employed in Jahn's Program Support Facility building for the Argonne (Illinois) National Laboratories (1978-1982). The blinds were angled to admit what warming sunlight is available during the winter. For the Auraria Library in Denver (1975), he provided external blinds to prevent too much direct sunlight from entering during the summer. With the onset of the energy crisis in the mid 1970s, Jahn turned his attention toward designing structures that were energy efficient. Nevertheless, the building won some prestigious awards and established Jahn as a flexible and reliable designer. Built in great haste, and of cheaper materials than the architect wanted, the roof of the arena collapsed during a wind storm in 1979. The structural supports for theīuilding were left uncovered, inside and out, as were all the pipes, ductwork, and other mechanical components. The most dramatic aspect of the arena was the roof, which was suspended over the building by three giant trusses, an idea perhaps inspired by Mies' Crown Hall at IIT. Completed in 1974, the arena was the first of Jahn's so-called "mat" buildings, which were characterized by their low, flat profile and high-tech appearance. ![]() Soon thereafter he began the first major project he could call his own, the Kemper Arena in Kansas City. Within six years Jahn was promoted to director of planning and design. ![]() Working initially as an assistant to Gene Summers, Jahn spent much of his early tenure with the firm on the design of the huge McCormick Place convention center in Chicago. In 1967 Jahn entered the prestigious Chicago firm of C. While at IIT, Jahn studied with the structural engineer Fazlur Khan, whose discoveries about wind shear resistance made possible the construction of the Sears Tower in Chicago, the world's tallest building. Here Jahn was thoroughly imbued with the work of Mies van der Rohe, the German architect who designed the campus of IIT and left the school with a strong tradition of modernist design. ![]() With the help of a Rotary Club scholarship, he emigrated to the United States in 1966 and began postgraduate work in architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). In 1965, Jahn received a diploma in architecture from a technical high school in Munich. His son, however, showed an aptitude for drawing and decided to become an architect, a decision that may have been inspired by his growing up among the war-ravaged buildings of his country. After the war, William Jahn returned to his career as a primary school teacher, a profession that he hoped young Helmut would pursue. He spent a year as a prisoner of war in Philadelphia, Pennsylviania, in the United States. His father, William Anton Jahn, served in the German army during World War II. Helmut Jahn was born in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1940. Always mindful of energy and cost efficiency, and yet convinced that buildings should enjoy a variety of colors, patterns, and textures, Jahn created technologically advanced structures that had widespread appeal. The buildings of German-American architect Helmut Jahn (born 1940) dramatically combine the modernist, glass-skinned style of Mies van der Rohe with traditional architectural imagery.
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