Dr. Fazlur Rahman Khan had been a prominent structural engineer who invented tubular structural system in the ’60s that enabled construction of super tall buildings efficiently and economically.

American
BangladeshiPakistani
Fazlur Rahman Khan/Nationality
Khan, in full Fazlur Rahman Khan, (born April 3, 1929, Dacca, India [now Dhaka, Bangladesh]—died March 27, 1982, Jiddah, Saudi Arabia), Bangladeshi American civil engineer known for his innovations in high-rise building construction.

Fazlur Rahman Khan
Fazlur Rahman Khan was a Bangladeshi-American structural engineer and architect who initiated important structural systems for skyscrapers. He is often considered as the greatest structural engineer in 20th century and the “father of tubular designs for high-rises.

He has been called the “Einstein of structural engineering” and the “Greatest Structural Engineer of the 20th Century” for his innovative use of structural systems that remain fundamental to modern skyscraper design and construction….

Today’s Google Doodle celebrates what would have been the 88th birthday of Fazlur Rahman Khan, the architect known as “the Einstein of structural engineering.” From his early life in Bangladesh to the pioneering tube structure that enabled him to sculpt the modern cityscape, here are five things you need to know.

According to NDTV, National Skyscraper Day is celebrated every year on September 3, on the birth anniversary of Louis H. Sullivan, often called the ‘father of modern skyscrapers’. The term ‘skyscraper’ originated in the United States in the late 1880s.

Fazlur Rahman Khan
Bruce Graham
Willis Tower/Architects

When this 110-story tower was designed, architect Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) utilized the bundled tube system to address structural problems never before seen at this scale. Their use of the innovative system ushered in a whole new era of skyscrapers.

The 10 Greatest Engineers of All Time

• Nikola Tesla. Arguably at the top of the list of greatest engineers is Nikola Tesla.
• Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison was an American inventor and referred to as a great businessman.
• Henry Ford.
• Archimedes.
• Nikolaus Otto.
• Leonardo Da Vinci.
• Wilber and Orville Wright.
• Alexander Graham Bell.

The Bottle Opener
In the original design, the opening was a circle. But people objected because it looked like a Japanese rising sun symbol over the city, so instead this trapezoid shape was built. This is how it got its nickname “The Bottle Opener.”

At 2,716 feet, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai has reigned as the world’s tallest building since 2010. The shortest building on the list is the Vincom Landmark 81 tower in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, at 1,513 feet. Only one US skyscraper, One World Trade Center in New York City, made the top 17.

Additionally, Khan published several papers and articles on structural engineering. Fazlur Rahman Khan was born on the April 3, 1929, in the Bengal Presidency of British India, which eventually became East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), to Abdur Rahman Khan, a high-school mathematics teacher and textbook author.

The ‘Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat’ has established the ‘Fazlur Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal’ to felicitate outstanding engineers. Additionally, Khan published several papers and articles on structural engineering.

Like her father, Yasmin Sabina Khan became a structural engineer and has forged a respectable career. In 2000 Yasmin wrote the introduction to Ezra Stoller’s book “Building Blocks: The John Hancock Center”. The small book (96 pages) contains black-and-white photographs of the John Hancock Center under construction and shortly after its opening.

In 1955, employed by the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), he began working in Chicago. He was made a partner in 1966. He worked the rest of his life side by side with fellow architect Bruce Graham.