Customer Reviews

Engineering Architecture: The Vision of Fazlur R. Khan

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This is an outstanding work by an acomplished structural engineer, Yasmin Khan, about her father, Fazlur R. Khan, often cited as the father of the modern skyscpaper.

Yasmin Khan is uniquely qualified and presents very difficult structural concepts developed by her father (Sears Tower, John Hancock Center, One Shell Square, etc.) in a manner everone can understand.

This book is a must for anyone contemplating a career in Architecture or Civil Engineering.

Ms. Khan's book about her father and his work is a wonderful and inspirational read. Dr. Khan was an extraordinary person in addition to his engineering talents. Ms. Khan does a fabulous job of relaying her father's philosophies and thoughts in both engineering and life. While the book may be about engineering, Ms. Khan does an excellent job of explaining concepts so that even a lay person such as myself can easily comprehend the concepts. Dr. Khan was a much revered and loved figure in Chicago and Ms. Khan shows us why. This book will inspire you!

This book provides a fascinating account of the life of Dr Fazlur Khan as written by his daughter. My interest in the book was especially the development of steel usage in tall buildings, and this is covered well although perhaps with a little too much technical language. I would imagine that other structural engineers will find the book fascinating. Those that are not will be enlightened at Khan's insights into how buildings could be made taller using new structural systems that pushed structural engineering and architecture to the limits and gave us buildings such as the John Hancock Center and Sears Tower (Now Willis Tower) in Chicago.

What also emerges is an engaging portrait of a man at the peak of his profession when he died tragically of a heart attack at the age of 52. He seems to have had an unusual intellect and focus combined with an ability to work with and get the best of people - not unlike Warren Buffet in those respects. Yet outside his profession, he remained virtually unknown since his death in 1982. Which is a shame. This book will help to maintain his legacy.