Google is celebrating the birth anniversary of Fazlur Rahman Khan, a structural engineer and architect who initiated important structural systems for skyscrapers. Hailing from Bangladesh, Khan is known to be the “father of tubular designs” for high-rises. He was born on April 3, 1929.
He was a humanitarian in his personal as well as professional life with simple beliefs, dedication and hard work. One of his famous quotes after bagging the Construction’s Man of the Year: “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.”
More about the father of high-rises:
- He developed new ways of framing tall buildings, dramatically improving structural efficiency and economy making him a pioneer in skyscraper design
- In the year 1965, he came up with the concept of ‘trussed tube’ structural system, which was his vision for Chicago’s John Hancock Center. It is a 100-storey building
- In the year 1971, he was designing the world’s tallest building at the time, the Sears Tower. His ‘bundled tube’ technique was one of the key elements of the Sears Tower. It is now called Willis Tower and remained the world’s tallest building for 22 year
- In the year 1972, he was named Construction’s Man of the Year by Engineering News-Record. He was just 42 years old at the time
- His innovations subsequently formed the basis of pretty much every subsequent tall building design
- Khan was also credited with designing Hajj airport terminal, the McMath-Pierce solar telescope, and several stadium structures
- His inspiration for construction was nothing fancy, instead a belief that his work had a positive impact in the world. He was known for encouraging other engineers not to lose the track of the purpose of their profession.
Source: The Daily Ittefaq
