Fazlur R. Khan Collection

Born and educated in Bangladesh, with advanced degrees in engineering from University of Illinois, Fazlur Khan (1929–1982) proposed elegant engineering solutions to the design problems of high-rise buildings. Khan is best known as the Skidmore Owings & Merrill partner who designed the structural systems for the John Hancock Center and Sears Tower in Chicago, as well as many other innovative designs for the SOM firm. As a professor of engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology he exercised enormous influence on a generation of architects and engineers who would bring the architecture and engineering design processes in much closer harmony. Khan was also highly influential in the American Bangladeshi community, particularly during the country’s struggle for independence during the early 1970s. This collection includes published and unpublished articles, lectures, curriculum files, project files and reports, research materials, slides, and photographs. View finding aid.View selected images from this collection.Find all Fazlur Khan images. Collection access:Collections may be accessed in the Franke Reading Room of the Research Center at The Art Institute of Chicago, by appointment only. For further information, consult the FAQ. Finding aids by subjectBrowse all finding aidsBrowse images and mediaOral histories Contact the Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives:archives@artic.edu