Art of the skyscraper : the genius of Fazlur Khan / Mir M. Ali.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ali, Mir M.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Khan, Fazlur R.

Skyscrapers--Design and construction.

Skyscrapers.

Tall buildings--Design and construction.

Tall buildings.

Physical Description:

239 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

Other Title:

Fazlur Khan

Place of Publication:

New York : Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., [2001]

Summary:

Fazlur Rahman Khan was, arguably, the greatest architectural engineer of the second half of the twentieth century. Most widely known for revolutionary innovation in the design and construction of tall buildings, he was responsible for structural systems that made possible the 100-story John Hancock Center and the 110-story Sears Tower -- a building so high it needed Federal Aviation Administration approval before construction could commence. Structural systems he invented -- including the "braced tube" and "bundled tube" systems -- remain, to this day, fundamental to high-rise construction. Khan's efforts were not limited to structural engineering but played an important role in the form and architecture of the buildings he worked on.

In Art of the Skyscraper: The Genius of Fazlur Khan, author Mir M. Ali offers a vivid portrait of this seminal figure. Considering in depth Khan's life and work, Ali focuses on a period from the 1950s to the early 1980s when Khan worked mostly at the Chicago offices of Skidmore, Owens & Merrill, then one of the largest architectural firms in the world. As a result of his presence, SOM became the undisputed leader in the development of very tall buildings.

This, the first published book on the life and work of Fazlur Khan, stands as a powerful testament to this revolutionary mind -- and to the technological advances it engendered. More than a source book for research in tall buildings or a biography, though it is both of these, Art of the Skyscraper gives us a tangible link, through photographs and architectural renderings, to the extraordinary sensitivity -- to aesthetics, to engineering -- that marked everything to which Khan lent his mind and hand.

Contents:

Chapter 1 The Man at the Top 8

Chapter 2 University of Illinois 20

Chapter 3 Setting the Stage 28

Chapter 4 Strength by Design 38

Chapter 5 Exploration and Innovation 52

Chapter 6 Adventures in Design and Accolades 84

Chapter 7 The Tower of Strength 106

Chapter 8 A Tube of Tubes 122

Chapter 9 The Gateway to Mecca 136

Chapter 10 The Supreme Integrator 150

Chapter 11 A Votary of Structural Art 162

Chapter 12 The Tall Building Council and Other Affiliations 172

Chapter 13 A Lover of Humanity 180

Chapter 14 Journey to the Eternal World 194

Chapter 15 The Khan Chair and More Recognition 202

Chapter 16 The Spirit Lives On 211

Honors/Awards/Recognition 233

Student Thesis Projects Supervised at IIT 234

Professional Registration 234.

Notes:

Includes bibiliographic references (pages 228-231) and index.

ISBN:

0847823709

OCLC:

48272649