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FAZLUR RAHMAN KHAN
1929-1982
BY LYNN S. BEEDLE
FAZLUR RAHMAN KHAN prominent partner and Chief Structural
Engineer of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in Chicago, died March
27, 1982, during a business trip to the Middle East. The sudden
passing of Dr. Khan—guiding structural engineering force of the
Sears Tower, the world's tallest building, and other significant proj-
ects has left a great void in the ranks of engineers of tall buildings.
In the span of his career he achieved international distinction for his
unparalleled work in structural systems.
Dr. Khan was a pioneer in tall-building engineering design, best
known for the creation of the "bundled tube" system first used in
the Sears Tower. The innovative concept calls for the use of groups of
narrow tubelike structures joined together to form a tower of great
height, yet with sufficient stiffness to meet lateral sway limitations. It
was created as a means of reducing the amount of structural steel or
concrete necessary to support a huge skyscraper, and thus making
large towers economically feasible.
He was born April 3, 1929, in Dacca, Bangladesh. In 1950 he
received a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University of
Dacca. He continued his education in the United States, attending
the University of Illinois at Urbana. There he earned an M.S.
degree in structural engineering in 1952. Three years later he com-
pleted both his M.S. degree in theoretical and applied mechanics
and his Ph.D. in structural engineering.
Dr. Khan decided to make his home in Chicago and joined the
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154
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
international architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in
1955. He remained with them until his death at age fifty-two.
Becoming Senior Designer his first year there, he rose through Sen-
ior Project Engineer, to Associate Partner, to Head of the Structural/
Civil Division, and finally to Partner in 1970.
Dr. Khan had been responsible for the engineering design of
many major architectural projects. He developed a number of new
structural systems for tall buildings, both for reinforced concrete and
for structural steel. Among many of the significant tall structures he
designed, three special buildings that stand out are the 714-foot-tall
One Shell Plaza Building in Houston; the 100-story John Hancock
Center in Chicago, the world's tallest multiuse building; and the
110-story Sears Tower in Chicago, the world's tallest building, at
1,454 feet.
Dr. Khan was also an active designer of other kinds of structures.
His work in long-span structural systems made possible the design
for the Haj Terminal of the King Abdul Aziz International Airport
in .lidda, Saudi Arabia, an immense, tentlike structure of stretched
fabric and concrete completed in 1981. He was also the engineer for
the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, a stadium in Minneapolis,
and the Baxter Travenel Laboratories, a structure with a roof sus-
pended from cables, in Deerfield, Illinois. Among other major proj-
ects were the engineering designs for the solar telescope at Kitt Peak,
Arizona, designed by Myron Goldsmith, and the United States Air
Force Academy in Colorado Springs, designed by Walter Netsch.
Though he was not an architect, Dr. Khan worked easily with
architects and prided himself on his collaborative role with them. In
particular, he worked closely with two of his partners in Skidmore,
Owings and Merrill's Chicago office: Bruce Graham, with whom he
worked on his major skyscraper designs, and Myron Goldsmith,
with whom he taught in the Architecture Department of the Illinois
Institute of Technology. Together, Dr. Khan and Mr. Graham
devised the design for the John Hancock Center. The pattern of the
huge X-braces on the exterior of the tower made it clear that the
structural system was an important aspect of the building's aesthet-
ics, and the dramatic form brought both Dr. Khan and Mr. Graham
considerable public notice. For the Sears Tower, nine tubes were
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FAZLUR RAHMAN KHAN
155
used. They were of different heights, both to express their separate
natures and to give the building a lively profile on the Chicago
skyline. Most other bundled tube designs have used tubes of uni-
form height, making these buildings appear somewhat more conven-
tional.
In addition to his work with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Dr.
Khan also participated actively in many professional organizations.
He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1973.
From 1976 to 1979 he was Vice-Chairman of the International
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat and was elected
Chairman in 1979, a post he held until his death.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the American
Concrete Institute (ACI), the American Welding Society, and the
IABSE, to name a few, all listed his name on their rosters. He
achieved distinction among their ranks, receiving many awards and
honors. Some of the most notable include Fulbright Scholar, Chica-
goan of the Year in Architecture and Engineering, American Insti-
tute of Steel Construction Special Award, Chicago Civil Engineer of
the Year (ASCE), Alumni Honor Award of the University of Illinois,
Middlebrooks Award (ASCE), Alfred E. Lindau Award (ACI),
State Service Award (Illinois Council of the American Institute of
Architects), Ernest E. Howard Award (ASCE), and G. Brooks
Earnest Award (ASCE Cleveland Section).
He was also cited among the Men Who Served the Best Interests
of the Construction Industry, in 1966, 1969, and 1971, and was
voted Construction's Man of the Year in 1972, by Er~gineer?rlg News
Record. Many medals, such as the Wason Medal for most meritori-
ous paper from ACI (1971), the Lloyd Kimbrough Medal from
AISC (1973), and the Oscar Farber Medal from the Institute of
Structural Engineers in London (1973), were bestowed upon this
. . .
engineering giant.
His untiring devotion to his field included the belief that it was not
enough just to keep his many theories, discoveries, and "school of
hard knocks" knowledge to himself. He published more than sev-
enty-five technical papers in engineering and architectural journals
on topics relating to the analysis, design, and construction of com-
plex structures. He also gave freely of his time as an Adjunct Profes-
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MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
sor of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago
where he taught from 1961 until the time of his death.
As a professional, Dr. Khan gave every fiber of his talent, energy,
and creativity to the development of new and innovative concepts,
all the while preserving what was essential in the tried and true
solutions.
As a person, he felt that structures should serve mankind, not the
other way around. He was keenly interested in a union of architec-
tural and engineering expertise, with the common goal of functional,
economical, and yet beautiful tall buildings. As was so aptly stated
by Engineering News Recordt, "The consoling facts are that his struc-
tures will stand for years, and his ideas will never die. "
He is survived by his wife, Liselotte; his daughter, Yasmin; and
his stepson, Martin Reifschneider.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
sears tower
