Late Dr. Fazlur Rahman Khan is the Most Famous Bangladeshi-American of 20th Century, He is one of the greatest structural engineers and, arguably, the greatest architectural engineer of the second half of the twentieth century. He is most widely known for his revolutionary design of the 100-story John Hancock Center and the 110-story Sears Tower in Chicago. Structural systems that he invented--including the braced tube, composite tube and the bundled tube systems-- remain fundamental to high-rise construction to this day.
Dr. Khan also played a key role in the form and architecture of the buildings he worked on. He was a man of vision, of culture, and of compassion. He was a true Bangladeshi at heart and never forgot his roots despite his fame in America. During the Liberation War of Bangladesh, he gave the much-needed leadership of expatriate Bangladeshis in America. Dr. Khan passed away in March 1982 while on a business trip to Saudi Arabia, representing the world-renowned architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in Chicago, of which he was a partner.
Dr. Khan looked up to the stars and with his tall towers reached for the sky but never forgot the earth under him. More on Dr. Khan is included in a separate article in this magazine.
