Helmut Jahn

Helmut Jahn, originally from Germany, arrived in Chicago in 1967 to study at the Illinois Institute of Technology. In 1973, Jahn became the director of planning and design for an architectural firm named C.F. Murphy. He quickly established a reputation with the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, the Michigan City, Indiana Public Library, St. Mary’s Athletic Facility in South Bend, Indiana, the De La Garza Career Center in East Chicago, Indiana and the Chicago Area 2 Police Headquarters. Jahn purchased C.F Murphy (the firm) in 1983. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed the enclosed pedestrian walk, which bridges over Orleans Street to connect The Merchandise Mart and the Chicago Apparel Center.

Helmut Jahn became a headliner, the leading man of architecture to Philip Johnson’s eminence grise. Murphy/Jahn’s work of the decade, including One and Two Liberty Place in Philadelphia, the Northwest Atrium Center in Chicago, New York’s 425 and 750 Lexington Avenue, the European Union Headquarters, the Messe Frankfurt Convention Center in Germany and the new 120 North LaSalle Street Building in Chicago, is the physical manifestation of the firm’s eclectic approach to design. In 1983, he completed the preliminary conceptual sketches for the United Airlines Terminal at the Chicago O’Hare International Airport. He also created the State of Illinois Building. Helmut Jahn was also one of several designers (of prospective different firms) who contributed to the design of McCormick Place in Chicago, IL. Helmut Jahn, first in glass and then in masonry and metal, consciously evoked the era of the skyscraper.

Contact:
35 E. Wacker Dr.
Chicago, IL 60601
ph: 312.427.7300