Helmut Jahn Quotes

• German and English firms operate internationally, while French firms do not. The only place where they all have work is in China. Anybody can sell himself in China!

  Helmut Jahn

• For me, though, the fun is over when I get the job.

  Helmut Jahn

• Critics are entitled to have an opinion, but how can they judge how comfortable a building is? No critic is smart enough to judge how a building will perform over time.

  Helmut Jahn

• Creativity has more to do with the elimination of the inessential than with inventing something new.

  Helmut Jahn

• Chinese buildings are like American buildings, with big footprints. People don’t care about daylight or fresh air.

  Helmut Jahn

• America has always imported history.

  Helmut Jahn

• A good engineer thinks in reverse and asks himself about the stylistic consequences of the components and systems he proposes.

  Helmut Jahn

• A building is hard to judge. It takes many years to find out whether it works. It’s not as simple as asking the people in the office whether they like it.

  Helmut Jahn

• Every building is a prototype. No two are alike.

  Helmut Jahn

  Tags in Architecture

• A city building, you experience when you walk; a suburban building, you experience when you drive.

  Helmut Jahn

  Tags in Architecture

Helmut Jahn (30)

Birth:	4th January, 1940
Nationality:	American
Profession:	Architect

About

Helmut Jahn was born in Nuremberg, Germany. He is a German-born American architect. In 1966, he emigrated to Chicago to further study architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, leaving school without earning his degree. In 1967, he joined C. F. Murphy Associates as a protégé of Gene Summers and was appointed Executive Vice President and Director of Planning and Design of the firm in 1973. His selected edifices include: Sony Center, Liberty Place, Kemper Arena, Suvarnabhumi Airport, Auraria Library, Michigan City Public Library, 11 Diagonal Street, James R. Thompson Center, Messeturm, Weser Tower, Joe and Rika Mansueto Library, and Cosmopolitan Twarda 2/4.

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Today's Anniversary - 8th January

Births

• 1934 - Alexandra Ripley
• 1891 - Walther Bothe
• 1891 - Storm Jameson
• 1823 - Alfred Russel Wallace
• 1924 - Ron Moody

Deaths

• 2009 - Richard John Neuhaus
• 1999 - Lester Bowie
• 1948 - Kurt Schwitters
• 1983 - Tom McCall