Fazlur Rahman Khan

Fazlur Rahman Khan (Bengali: ফজলুর রহমান খান Fozlur Rôhman Khan) (April 3, 1929 - March 27, 1982), born in Dhaka, East Bengal (now Bangladesh), was a Bangladeshi American structural engineer. He is regarded as the "Einstein of structural engineering" and considered "the greatest architectural engineer of the second half of the 20th century" for his constructions of the Sears Tower and John Hancock Center, and for his desgins of structural systems that remain fundamental to all high-rise skyscrapers.

Biography

After completing undergraduate coursework at the Bengal Engineering College, University of Calcutta (Now Bengal Engineering & Science University,Shibpur), Fazlur R. Khan received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Dhaka in 1951 while placing first in his class. A Fulbright Scholarship and a Pakistani government scholarship enabled him to travel to the United States in 1952 where he pursued advanced studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In three years Khan earned two Master's degrees — one in structural engineering and one in theoretical and applied mechanics — and a PhD in structural engineering.

In 1955, employed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, he began working in Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Fazlur Khan's design innovations improved the construction of high-rise buildings, enabling them to withstand enormous forces generated on these super structures. These new designs opened an economic door for contractors, engineers, architects, and investors, providing vast amounts of real estate space on minimal plots of land.

He is noted for his efficient designs for Chicago’s 100-story John Hancock Center and 110-story Sears Tower, the tallest building in the United States since its completion in 1974.

He is also responsible for designing notable buildings in Bangladesh.

Sears Tower, designed by Fazlur Khan, was the tallest building in the world at the time of its construction

Khan's central innovation in skyscraper design and construction was the idea of the "tube" and "bundled tube" structural systems for tall buildings. [1][2] Another innovation that Khan developed was the concept of X-bracing. This concept reduced the lateral load on the building by transferring the load into the exterior columns. This allows for a reduced need for interior columns thus creating more floor space. This concept can be seen in the John Hancock Center.

One of the foremost structural engineers of the 20th century, Fazlur Khan epitomized both structural engineering achievement and creative collaborative effort between architect and engineer. He believed that "only when architectural design is grounded in structural realities — thus celebrating architecture's nature as a constructive art, rooted in the earth — can the resulting aesthetics … have a transcendental value and quality."

Fazlur Khan's personal papers are held by the Ryerson and Burnham Archives at The Art Institute of Chicago.

Education

As a boy, Khan's father instilled in him the importance of an education, not only early education but a continued education. For this reason, Khan went to undergraduate school and then graduate school. Although Khan was finished with school and now in the workforce, he still continued to learn. He taught himself how to program the new computer system in which SOM purchased in 1961. He then taught his colleagues how to use the new programs.

Khan realized the value of his education and encouraged his daughter Yasmin along a similar path. However, he did not push her into structural engineering, she found her passion for this on her own. Her experiences with her father influenced her education and her work. Yasmin later wrote many articles and books including Engineering Architecture: The Vision of Fazlur R. Kahn, a tribute to her father.

Personal Interests

Outside of work, Khan enjoyed spending time with his family (wife Liselotte and daughter Yasmin). He enjoyed singing, poetry, and table tennis. He also was heavily involved during the crisis in Bangladesh (his home country) during the 1970's. He created the Chicago-based organization known as Bangladesh Emergency Welfare Appeal to help those people who decided to stay in Bangladesh.

Professional Milestones

• In 1961, was made a Participating Associate in Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; in 1966 he became an Associate Partner and in 1970 a General Partner - the only engineer partner at the time.
• Received an Alumni Honor Dada from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (1972), an Honorary Doctor of Science from Northwestern University (1973), and an Honorary Doctor of Engineering from Lehigh University (1980).
• In 1973, elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
• He was cited five times among 'Men Who Served the Best Interests of the Construction Industry' by Engineering News-Record (for 1965, 1968, 1970, 1971, and 1979); and in 1972 he was named 'Construction's Man of the Year'. He was posthumously honored with the International Award of Merit in Structural Engineering from the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering and a Distinguished Service Award from the AIA Chicago Chapter (both in 1982).
• In 1983 the American Institute of Architects recognized Fazlur Khan's contributions with an AIA Institute Honor for Distinguished Achievement. The same year he was honored with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture "for the Structure of the Hajj Terminal, An Outstanding Contribution to Architecture for Muslims," which was completed over the last years of his life.
• He was honored posthumously by the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois with the John Parmer Award in 1987 and with the commissioning of a sculpture by the Spanish artist Carlos Marinas, which is located in the lobby of the Sears Tower.
• In 1998 the city of Chicago named the intersection of Jackson and Franklin Streets (at the foot of the Sears Tower) “Fazlur R. Khan Way.”
• Made contributions in creating public opinion and amassing emergency fund for the people of Bangladesh during its War of Liberation. The Government of Bangladesh posthumously awarded him Independence Day Medal 1999 in recognition of his contributions, and a commemorative postal stamp was published in his memory.
• He was honored posthumously by The Bangladeshi-American Foundation, Inc. (BAFI) in May 2005 as the most famous Bangladeshi-American of 20th Century.

Other Honors

• Among Khan's other accomplishments, he received the Wason Medal (1971) and Alfred Lindau Award (1973) from the American Concrete Institute (ACI); the Thomas Middlebrooks Award (1972) and the Ernest Howard Award (1977) from ASCE; the Kimbrough Medal (1973) from the American Institute of Steel Construction; the Oscar Faber medal (1973) from the Institution of Structural Engineers, London; the AIA Institute Honor for Distinguished Achievement (1983) from the American Institute of Architects; and the John Parmer Award (1987) from Structural Engineers Association of Illinois (Engineering Legends, Richard Weingardt).

Quotes "The technical man must not be lost in his own technology; he must be able to appreciate life, and life is art, drama, music, and most importantly, people." Fazlur Khan (Engineering Legends, Richard Weingardt)

External links

• Website dedicated to Fazlur Rahman Khan
• [3]
• "Evolution of Concrete Skyscrapers". Retrieved 2007-05-14.
• Fazlur Rahman Khan at Structurae

Further reading

• Weingardt, Richard G. "Engineering Legends: Great American Civil Engineers." ASCE Press, 2005.
• Khan, Y. S. "Engineering Architecture: the vision of Fazlur R. Khan." New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2004.