Sustainability is more than a feature of our design approach — it is a commitment that defines it. At Jahn, we passionately embrace urban responsibility, innovative engineering, and optimized façade performance to elevate the overall excellence of our buildings. This vision transcends the conventional boundaries of energy conservation, encompassing the well-being and comfort of occupants in every space, inside and out.
Our approach is comprehensive, acknowledging the critical importance of every building component and system in minimizing environmental impact. While certifications like LEED and WELL mark the beginning of our journey in sustainable design, our aspirations stretch beyond these benchmarks. This relentless pursuit of optimal performance demands a deep, collaborative synergy among design professionals and clients, ensuring that our designs are not just energy-efficient, but represent a pioneering approach toward reducing carbon emissions throughout their lifecycle.
The pursuit of this outcome is what gives us purpose. It is our responsibility to make it seamless, balancing nature, sense of place, and an experience that thrills and excites.
Ideas/
Exhibitions
Life + Architecture: Helmut Jahn exhibition at the Chicago Architecture Center
The exhibition, “Helmut Jahn: Life + Architecture,” showcased significant designs from Jahn’s illustrious career, including notable projects like the crystalline Michigan City Public Library and the striking James R. Thompson Center in Chicago. It also highlighted transformative designs, including the Sony Center in Berlin and the construction of the Pritzker Military Archives Center in Wisconsin, which was still ongoing at the time of the exhibition.
Debuting at the Chicago Architecture Center nearly one year after Jahn’s passing, the posthumous exhibition featured photography, models, and sketches that shed light on Jahn’s collaborative design and engineering process. Additionally, images from Jahn’s family archives, videos, and recollections from those who knew and worked with Jahn emphasized his dramatic flair and zest for life.
Process Progress/ Retrospective exhibition at Neues Museum in Nuremberg
“Helmut Jahn: Process Progress” — an international exhibition by the Neues Museum in Nuremberg and Die Neue Sammlung (the International Design Museum, Munich) — showcased the comprehensive body of work by Helmut Jahn. The exhibition focused on Jahn’s open approach to architecture, characterized by two overarching concepts: process, representing work process, and progress, signifying advancement. It presented Jahn’s dynamic portfolio, spanning from his early works in Chicago to contemporary “mega big buildings” in Qatar, China, Japan, and Korea, and also explored Jahn’s visionary projects for ideal cities in the Emirates and large-scale shopping centers in China.
Despite the scale of these projects, Jahn’s personal touch was incorporated throughout the exhibition, through drawings that were executed on small paper blocks or notebooks. The exhibition also displayed architectural models, primarily made of Plexiglas, and featured photographs of Jahn’s works captured by photographer Rainer Viertlböck.
Helmut Jahn’s return to Nuremberg after 46 years provided a comprehensive overview of Jahn’s career, showcasing both built and forthcoming projects and exploring his belief that “the future is never wrong.”
Google unveils glimpse at plans for James R. Thompson Center’s atrium
Since it first opened in 1985, the 17-story atrium of the James R. Thompson Center has been one of its defining features — a symbol of a government that should be transparent and accessible to all. As the original architects of the building, our team is honored to be leading Google's 21st-century reimagining of this building, extending this promise to a new generation of users.
Shand Morahan Corporate HQ wins Design Evanston 25 Year Award
Design Evanston identifies significant aesthetic and functional improvements in the Evanston community and recognizes them with our Design Evanston Awards. Specifically designed not to be self-serving for design professionals, the awards are presented to owners responsible for the design excellence of local projects.
The Architect’s Newspaper: Jahn/ lines a residential building in Chicago with aluminum spandrels drawing interest to a glass curtain wall facade
A quick scan of the Chicago skyline reveals a sea of glass curtain wall towers. For 1000M, a new residential building in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District, Jahn set out to design a building that sets itself apart from this monotony. The facade of the 805-foot tower was faced with a unitized curtain wall that was further articulated by mill finished aluminum spandrels.…
Jahn and O2 Design honored with ASLA 2024 awards in multiple categories
Congratulations to our partner O2 Design for receiving the ASLA Honor Award in General Design for our 40-acre project in Somers, Wisconsin. This landscape design marks the first phase of a transformative 283-acre development, supporting the institution’s vision for a world-class museum campus that deepens public appreciation for military history.
Pritzker Military Archives Center among winners of 2024 International Architecture Awards
Designed by Jahn Archtiecture and O2 Design, the Pritzker Military Archives Center (PMAC) is a state-of-the-art center that furthers the mission of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, through restoration, preservation, and storage of its collection.
Shand Morahan Corporate HQ wins Design Evanston 25 Year Award
Design Evanston identifies significant aesthetic and functional improvements in the Evanston community and recognizes them with our Design Evanston Awards. Specifically designed not to be self-serving for design professionals, the awards are presented to owners responsible for the design excellence of local projects.
Jahn and O2 Design honored with ASLA 2024 awards in multiple categories
Congratulations to our partner O2 Design for receiving the ASLA Honor Award in General Design for our 40-acre project in Somers, Wisconsin. This landscape design marks the first phase of a transformative 283-acre development, supporting the institution’s vision for a world-class museum campus that deepens public appreciation for military history.
Pritzker Military Archives Center among winners of 2024 International Architecture Awards
Designed by Jahn Archtiecture and O2 Design, the Pritzker Military Archives Center (PMAC) is a state-of-the-art center that furthers the mission of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, through restoration, preservation, and storage of its collection.
Pritzker Military Archives Center wins Divine Detail award at AIA Chicago’s Designight 2024
AIA Chicago Announces Winners of the 2024 Design Excellence Awards, Decarbonization Award, Divine Detail Award, Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Award and the Lerch Bates People’s Choice Awards
Evan Jahn and Philip Castillo named to Newcity’s Design 50 2024
Evan Jahn and Philip Castillo were named to Newcity's Design 50 2024, an annual list highlighting the continual evolution within Chicago’s design community through the creators of our city’s cultural scene.
Looking back on 40 years of the James R. Thompson Center
2025 will mark 40 years since the Thompson Center first opened as the State of Illinois Center. Although it sparked much conversation and debate at the time, it proved to be a game changer for our firm — a building that allowed us to test new ideas and push the boundaries of what a government building should be. A building for the people, by the people.
