Helmut Jahn, 1940-2021
May 10, 2021 7:14 AM Subscribe
Helmut Jahn died Saturday from injuries suffered in a cycling accident near his home in the Chicago suburbs. Brash and fearless, Jahn was part of the so-called Chicago Seven, a contentious group of architects who rebelled in the 1970s against what they saw as the reductionist modernist narrative, popular in the media’s chronicling of Chicago architecture.
“Helmut was this dashing star of an architect,” Blair Kamin, who was the Tribune’s architecture critic during most of Jahn’s most productive years, said Sunday. “He was on the cover of GQ. He was renowned as much for his persona as for his architecture, but his architecture was always exceptional. And, as time went on, he was regarded as less of a ‘Flash Gordon’ character and more of a modernist master.”
It feels somehow less off-putting to renew your driver's license in a place that doesn't feel bureaucratic.
TRUE. Doesn't get less bureaucratic than a Secretary of State office in-between a Panda Express and a Dunkin Donuts, lol. Also those lines are long and you'll need a snack.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:40 AM on May 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
TRUE. Doesn't get less bureaucratic than a Secretary of State office in-between a Panda Express and a Dunkin Donuts, lol. Also those lines are long and you'll need a snack.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:40 AM on May 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
Interesting. My experience of that particular driver's license renewal place was that I blocked out the whole afternoon, based on my experience in other places, and was in and out in less than an hour. Honestly, part of the reason that I have warm and fuzzy feelings about the Thompson Center is because the DMV office was super efficient and easy to use.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:50 AM on May 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:50 AM on May 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
the O'Hare tunnel with the neon
The T1 tunnel is certainly a part of life for Chicagoans now (THE MOVING WALKWAY IS ENDING PLEASE LOOK DOWN), but Jahn's real design for the concourse is a bit different than how it really turned out.
posted by mookoz at 7:54 AM on May 10, 2021
The T1 tunnel is certainly a part of life for Chicagoans now (THE MOVING WALKWAY IS ENDING PLEASE LOOK DOWN), but Jahn's real design for the concourse is a bit different than how it really turned out.
posted by mookoz at 7:54 AM on May 10, 2021
There is a lot of hubbub on Chicago bike twitter about that and some skepticism about the witness accounts of what happened (the witnesses are the drivers apparently). This is all probably a derail, though, and we probably shouldn't litigate bikes vs. cars issues here as opposed to focusing on the man's legacy as an architect.
For me personally, the best Jahn is the entire United Terminal at O'Hare - not just the tunnel, which is sort of weird and dated at this point.
posted by Mid at 8:32 AM on May 10, 2021 [7 favorites]
For me personally, the best Jahn is the entire United Terminal at O'Hare - not just the tunnel, which is sort of weird and dated at this point.
posted by Mid at 8:32 AM on May 10, 2021 [7 favorites]
I grew up in the Chicago Suburbs from the early 80's eraly 90's, and took quite a few different trips into Chicago. His obituary made me realize how much of his buildings were a part of my memories of Chicago.
My class was doing a unit on commodity trading and visited the Mercantile exchange, and CBOT. For some reason a prime part of my memory of that trip is being led to the 12th floor atrium in the Jahn designed addition by a probably coked up commodities trader because he saw me eat a lemon wedge on a dare during lunch in the cafeteria. My tour then visited the same atrium an hour or so later.
In a class about Art, we did a walking tour of Chicago. One of the stops was The Monument with Standing Beast sculpture outside the State of Illinois building. We went inside the building with its massive atrium. I snuck off from the group at one point and took an elevator to the top floor to look down into the atrium.
I lived near O'Hare and the tunnel in Terminal 1 was what I imagined the future would be. My dad travelled regularly on United, and I enjoyed riding through the tunnel to the outer gates to meet him.
posted by Badgermann at 9:09 AM on May 10, 2021 [2 favorites]
My class was doing a unit on commodity trading and visited the Mercantile exchange, and CBOT. For some reason a prime part of my memory of that trip is being led to the 12th floor atrium in the Jahn designed addition by a probably coked up commodities trader because he saw me eat a lemon wedge on a dare during lunch in the cafeteria. My tour then visited the same atrium an hour or so later.
In a class about Art, we did a walking tour of Chicago. One of the stops was The Monument with Standing Beast sculpture outside the State of Illinois building. We went inside the building with its massive atrium. I snuck off from the group at one point and took an elevator to the top floor to look down into the atrium.
I lived near O'Hare and the tunnel in Terminal 1 was what I imagined the future would be. My dad travelled regularly on United, and I enjoyed riding through the tunnel to the outer gates to meet him.
posted by Badgermann at 9:09 AM on May 10, 2021 [2 favorites]
The Thompson Center is interesting in some respects but it's a disaster inside now, and the people who work there deserve better. It really can't be fixed to solve it's many age-related problems in particular, but mostly it's not great for a government building in 2021. Since they just announced again its sale I bet the battle to actually tear it down will rage on.
posted by tiny frying pan at 9:53 AM on May 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by tiny frying pan at 9:53 AM on May 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
(I thought the O'Hare tunnel as a child was what you saw as you went up to heaven - he was a talented designer)
posted by tiny frying pan at 9:54 AM on May 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by tiny frying pan at 9:54 AM on May 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
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He designed the library I work at. Controversially his designed called for neither heating or cooling, as the building was supposed to be designed so well it wouldn't need it. However, both were installed the second year after it was occupied.
I like the 2 courtyards allowing the outdoors to be incorporated into the interior, however, from the outside, you need to be a fan of squat, ugly, 70's era cubes (ok, artistic sensibility is subjective). It's been updated multiple times and is now pretty nice, though it's taken 45 years to get there.
posted by evilDoug at 10:40 AM on May 10, 2021 [4 favorites]
He designed the library I work at. Controversially his designed called for neither heating or cooling, as the building was supposed to be designed so well it wouldn't need it. However, both were installed the second year after it was occupied.
I like the 2 courtyards allowing the outdoors to be incorporated into the interior, however, from the outside, you need to be a fan of squat, ugly, 70's era cubes (ok, artistic sensibility is subjective). It's been updated multiple times and is now pretty nice, though it's taken 45 years to get there.
posted by evilDoug at 10:40 AM on May 10, 2021 [4 favorites]
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His son was a rugby teammate & buddy of mine in college. Blissfully ignoring just about anything out of the here-and-now (as I did for much of my time in college), and clueless about the architecture world, I only knew something about a well-known architect father -- I was completely incurious about any details.
In my first job out of college, I was attending a reception at a fancy event center on a private school campus when I noticed a plaque stating that construction was funded (solely) from a donation by Helmut Jahn. Suddenly, "well-known architect" came into a much different light, and I teased my buddy about why his dad couldn't donate some better tasting beer for rugby post-game drinking.
But, I still had no sense of Jahn's celebrity or architectural significance until I moved to Chicago. In a city known for architecture, his name is all over. I really like his buildings, especially seen within the timeline of Chicago architecture. I bike down Dearborn Street in the Loop to get to work, and through a few blocks you get it all: from an all-stone skyscraper, to the shimmery glass towers. He's got a tower on Dearborn (55 W Monroe) and I think it represents the post-van der Rohe, pre-glass-tower spot on that lineage well.
One last confounding detail: I start my bike ride to work in Andersonville, several miles north. There is often a car parked along Clark Street nearby with the license plate: "H JAHN". It's parked by a very modest development that wouldn't seem to be a home for a legendary architect... always wondered about that license plate.
posted by Theophrastus Johnson at 10:50 AM on May 10, 2021 [5 favorites]
His son was a rugby teammate & buddy of mine in college. Blissfully ignoring just about anything out of the here-and-now (as I did for much of my time in college), and clueless about the architecture world, I only knew something about a well-known architect father -- I was completely incurious about any details.
In my first job out of college, I was attending a reception at a fancy event center on a private school campus when I noticed a plaque stating that construction was funded (solely) from a donation by Helmut Jahn. Suddenly, "well-known architect" came into a much different light, and I teased my buddy about why his dad couldn't donate some better tasting beer for rugby post-game drinking.
But, I still had no sense of Jahn's celebrity or architectural significance until I moved to Chicago. In a city known for architecture, his name is all over. I really like his buildings, especially seen within the timeline of Chicago architecture. I bike down Dearborn Street in the Loop to get to work, and through a few blocks you get it all: from an all-stone skyscraper, to the shimmery glass towers. He's got a tower on Dearborn (55 W Monroe) and I think it represents the post-van der Rohe, pre-glass-tower spot on that lineage well.
One last confounding detail: I start my bike ride to work in Andersonville, several miles north. There is often a car parked along Clark Street nearby with the license plate: "H JAHN". It's parked by a very modest development that wouldn't seem to be a home for a legendary architect... always wondered about that license plate.
posted by Theophrastus Johnson at 10:50 AM on May 10, 2021 [5 favorites]
Lived in Chicago for 14 years. Loved that city. It was the 80s and 90s, the heyday of Rush street, what I call the About Last Night era. For reasons, I commuted between Chicago ORD and San Francisco SFX weekly, Monday to SF, Thursday home. I did it for months. So long that since I was on the same fights every week, the flight attendants and even a few in the cockpit would say hello to me. The airline crew was great, but I knew I was home when I went through that tunnel I hate so much. Weird feeling to hate the tunnel yet love it bc it represented home to wife and kids. Having been to 0ver 150 Grateful Dead shows, I can say that tunnel would be great to get into say the United Center (Chicago Stadium!) for a show, but right before you fly and right afterwards, it is very disconcerting.
HJ was a giant in Chicago, rightfully so.
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posted by AugustWest at 11:46 AM on May 10, 2021
HJ was a giant in Chicago, rightfully so.
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posted by AugustWest at 11:46 AM on May 10, 2021
on the one hand, getting hit while cycling is pretty gruesome, but OTOH checking out in my 80s while cycling sounds like a decent exit to me at least.
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 12:34 PM on May 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 12:34 PM on May 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
I like his take on an office building, the MetroWest building out in Naperville, and for living in the future you can't beat the U of C's Mansueto Library or the Chiller plant.
posted by zenon at 2:03 PM on May 10, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by zenon at 2:03 PM on May 10, 2021 [2 favorites]
Jahn had an impressive portfolio of office buildings and towers (I like MetroWest, too).
He also designed exactly one residental building during his career: the Jahn House in Eagle River, Wisconsin.
Yes, architecture fans, a cabin in the northwoods. It's...unique.
posted by mookoz at 2:22 PM on May 10, 2021 [2 favorites]
He also designed exactly one residental building during his career: the Jahn House in Eagle River, Wisconsin.
Yes, architecture fans, a cabin in the northwoods. It's...unique.
posted by mookoz at 2:22 PM on May 10, 2021 [2 favorites]
I grew up near the MetroWest building. you can't quite say that it's iconic... it is, in the end, a midsize office building. But it's not NOT iconic either - it can't be mistaken for anything else nearby.
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posted by wotsac at 4:07 PM on May 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by wotsac at 4:07 PM on May 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
He died near where I grew up, in the expensive, largely white, horsey far west suburbs, without a lot in the way of safe bike lanes or shoulders. I heard that he blew a stop sign. But if the only witnesses were the drivers...who knows.
I've always felt at home in his brutalist scrapes. His buildings are integral to my memories of Chicago. But I think the pandemic has made me crave kinder, more human-scale spaces.
posted by answergrape at 6:20 PM on May 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
I've always felt at home in his brutalist scrapes. His buildings are integral to my memories of Chicago. But I think the pandemic has made me crave kinder, more human-scale spaces.
posted by answergrape at 6:20 PM on May 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
i lived in chicago during the 60s/70s/80s. i recall everyone thinking that jahn's stuff was crazy looking and not well thought out. the thompson center building was built with a giant underground ice freezing system instead of conventional AC. it never worked and cost $11mil to replace. and the united terminal was built with a rounded roof that guaranteed a bright reflection into pilot's eyes no matter where the sun was. and the terminal 1 tunnel, while sorta fun, was among initial places that united trotted out their ownership of "rhapsody in blue". and not jahn's fault, but... at the time, the corporate "buying" of an artistic classic was seen as amazingly brazen and the terminal 1 tunnel shoved it down everyone's throats. everyone thought the metrowest building was an n-as-in-naperville reference of some kind.
posted by bruceo at 6:51 PM on May 10, 2021
posted by bruceo at 6:51 PM on May 10, 2021
The music in the tunnel was some kind of original piece of electronica made for the sculpture by an artist named William Kraft. The Rhapsody in Blue stuff was a later replacement.
posted by Mid at 7:23 PM on May 10, 2021
posted by Mid at 7:23 PM on May 10, 2021
wow can't believe the haters in here!! the rainbow tunnel (my sister and i called it the rainbow bridge) is absolutely iconic and perfect, today and yesterday and always. my parents were airline people so i spent a really nontrivial percentage of my childhood at o'hare, and that is just a magical place.
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posted by goodbyewaffles at 7:41 PM on May 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by goodbyewaffles at 7:41 PM on May 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
Local media has an update that provides some more information about the event and get's to some of the local contention between folks. TLDR: comments in a local sustainable transportation Facebook (of all places) certainly prompted my linked article's headline, as well as a bunch of spikey posts from various other local bike groups online.
posted by zenon at 8:55 AM on May 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by zenon at 8:55 AM on May 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
The overlap between architects who make stuff that is interesting and architects who make stuff that you'd actually want to live and work in is rather small. I like a lot of his stuff, and am lucky to spend time surrounded by several examples, but the South Campus Chiller Plant is my favorite.
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posted by eotvos at 9:55 AM on May 11, 2021
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posted by eotvos at 9:55 AM on May 11, 2021
One of the many unfortunate things that contributes to narrative around vehicles colliding with cyclists or pedestrians is survivor bias. Often the only on-the-record witness is the driver, after the vulnerable user is left (worst case) dead or concussed/with no or fuzzy memory about the incident.
If the driver that has gone on record said that he didn't even KNOW he had hit a cyclist at first, just that he hit something, how can he also have assessed the speed of said cyclist and whether that person previously stopped at the stop sign before proceeding into the intersection?
On to Jahn, I will always adore the O'Hare rainbow tunnel with all of my heart. And I would love to save the Thompson Center but understand the conditions for those working there matter, too.
posted by misskaz at 10:40 AM on May 11, 2021 [3 favorites]
If the driver that has gone on record said that he didn't even KNOW he had hit a cyclist at first, just that he hit something, how can he also have assessed the speed of said cyclist and whether that person previously stopped at the stop sign before proceeding into the intersection?
On to Jahn, I will always adore the O'Hare rainbow tunnel with all of my heart. And I would love to save the Thompson Center but understand the conditions for those working there matter, too.
posted by misskaz at 10:40 AM on May 11, 2021 [3 favorites]
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posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:37 AM on May 10, 2021 [2 favorites]