WASHINGTON, May 10 — German-born American architect Helmut Jahn, known for his postmodern steel-and-glass structures, has died aged 81 in Illinois in a crash involving two vehicles while he was riding his bicycle, police said Sunday.
Jahn died on Saturday afternoon in Campton Hills, about 100 kilometres west of Chicago, after he “failed to stop at a posted stop sign” at an intersection, according to police.
The two vehicles were traveling in opposite directions, police said, adding one driver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
After graduating in Munich in 1965, Jahn moved to Chicago to study at the Illinois Institute of Technology, a school associated with influential Modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
Jahn made his name in the 1970s and 1980s with buildings in Chicago including the Thompson Center and the United Airlines Terminal at O’Hare International Airport.
He was also involved in the design of the FBI headquarters in Washington and later built the Munich Airport Center and the Sony Center in Berlin.
“Jahn was one of the most inventive Chicago architects whose impact on the city... will never be forgotten,” said Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot on Twitter.
“His architectural footprint will be felt & seen across the globe for generations to come.” — AFP
