Renowned architect who designed Chicago's Thompson Center and McCormick Place killed in Illinois

Helmut Jahn, a prominent German architect who designed the state government building in Chicago and worked on the design of the FBI headquarters in Washington, was killed when two vehicles struck the bicycle he was riding in Illinois.

Jahn (81) was killed while driving northbound on a street in Campton Hills, about 55 miles west of Chicago. Jahn failed to stop at a stop sign at an intersection and was struck by two vehicles, Campton Hills Police Chief Steven Miller said in a press release.

Jahn was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Authorities say the driver of one of the vehicles that struck Jahn was transported to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

Helmut Jahn was born in Germany in 1940 and graduated from the Technische Hochschule in Munich. He moved to Chicago in 1966 to study under the legendary architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the creator of modernist architecture, at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Jahn's professional career began in 1967 when he joined CF Murphy Associates, which later became Murphy / Jahn. He worked on several major projects, including Chicago's McCormick Place and the J. Edgar Hoover Building, the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.

One of his more controversial buildings was the James R. Thompson Center in the Chicago Loop, opened in 1985. It was put up for sale last week. State officials say the 17-story building was „devouring“ state finances because it is inefficient to operate and needs several hundred million US dollars in repairs.

Jahn taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Harvard University, Yale University, and the Illinois Institute of Technology.

SOURCE: WGNTV.COM PHOTO: WGNTV.COM