Fazlur Rahman Khan
Early Life
Fazlur Rahman Khan was born on 3rd of april, 1929, in Faridpur district in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He graduated from University of Dhaka with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree.
His tube-like structure concept was inspired by the bamboo that grew around his hometown's surroundings. He discovered that the bamboo-like structure provided an additional vertical resilience.
There were no structures taller than three storeys in his birthplace of Dhaka. He didn't see his first skyscraper until he was 21.
Innovations
Regarded as "Father of tubular designs" for high-rise building construction
Framed tube: The tube constructions are extremely strong and would offer various benefits over conventional frame methods.
Trussed tube and X-bracing: They made buildings more durable and efficient, also minimizing material consumption while allowing buildings to reach even higher heights.
Bundle tube: Employed for the Willis Tower and One Magnificent Mile, one of Khan's most notable innovations on the tube construction idea.
Career
Khan went to the United States in 1952, he started working with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in Chicago, Illinois, in 1955.
In 1966, he was promoted to partner, and in 1967 he got citizenship.
He rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s as the architect of Chicago's 100-story John Hancock Center and 108-story Sears (Willis) Tower, the world's tallest skyscraper at the time, topping out the Empire State Building, and remained the highest in the United States since its completion in 1974.
Khan's pioneering work on designing tall building structural systems in structural steel and reinforced concrete based on building height is still utilized as a starting point for tall structure design today.
Since then, tube constructions have been employed in the construction of numerous skyscrapers, including the World Trade Center, Aon Center, Petronas Towers, Jin Mao Building, Bank of China Tower, and most other buildings above 40 floors built since the 1960s.
Achievements
Khan was named to Engineering News-list Record's of persons who represented the construction industry's best interests five times.
He was named Man of the Year in 1972. He was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 1973.
President Barack Obama addressed Khan at a speech in Cairo, Egypt in 2009, when he praised the achievements of America's Muslim residents.
"Khan was a visionary who converted skyscrapers into sky cities while remaining firmly anchored in the foundations of engineering." - Mark Sarkisian, Director of Structural and Seismic Engineering at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.