ABSTRACT
Dr. Khan’s contributions to the design of tall buildings have had a profound impact on the profession. Kahn had a unique understanding of forces, materials, behavior, as well as art, literature, and architecture. Long before there was widespread focus on environmental issues, Kahn’s designs promoted structural efficiency and minimizing the use of materials resulting in the least carbon emission impact on the environment. Kahn was interested in the performance of structural systems over an expected life; recognizing a building’s life-cycle and issues of abnormal loading demands, he developed concepts to apply to severe wind environments as well as early concepts of seismic isolation of structures. These system ideas have led to the development of other concepts which have yielded buildings much taller than those considered by Kahn. His ideas have inspired others to expand the possibilities in tall building design, life-cycle engineering and the effects of the structures on the environment.
