JAHN is now Jahn/

Internationally renowned full-service architecture studio JAHN announced today a new visual identity and voice. The refreshed brand celebrates a commitment to collaboration that has been at the heart of Jahn’s success, which remains named for the late architect Helmut Jahn (1940-2021), who led the Chicago-based firm for 40 years.

The new primary mark, which appears on its own and in headlines as Jahn/, punctuates the latest evolution in the 60-year history of the company, which began as C.F. Murphy before growing into Murphy/Jahn, JAHN and now Jahn/. The virgule – or slash mark – following the name is intentionally open-ended, signifying the firm’s optimism for what comes next.

“Throughout our history of designing some of Chicago and the world’s most innovative and beautiful buildings, our practice never stopped evolving to meet new challenges,” said Jahn president Evan Jahn. “While re-introducing our studio with a fresh identity marks a new era for Jahn, our culture of working as a collective to create vibrant, sustainable spaces, unbounded by convention, that merge art, science and technology will always be at the heart of our practice.”

The rebranding comes almost one year after the sudden passing of Helmut Jahn, whose collaboration within the studio and with its partners led to the design of iconic commercial, residential, institutional, transportation and governmental buildings across four continents. Notable projects include the Mansueto Library at the University of Chicago, One Liberty Place in Philadelphia, 50 West in New York, the Sony Center in Berlin, Suvarnabhumi Airport terminal in Bangkok and the Messeturm in Frankfurt.

“Helmut was a larger-than-life personality, and his vision and legacy will forever remain a source of inspiration for this firm,” said Philip Castillo, FAIA, managing director at Jahn, who was mentored by Helmut and worked alongside him for nearly four decades to deliver the groundbreaking work for which Jahn is famous. “But Jahn as a company has always been a collective of top designers, technical experts and project managers, all working together to create an extraordinary final product. We will continue to draw on the voices and shared knowledge from our most experienced directors down to the next generation of designers, and we will share the value of that collaborative spirit through our new brand.”

Jahn is currently completing work on under-construction projects such as 1000M in Chicago’s South Loop, EDEN Tower in Frankfurt and the Pritzker Military Archive Center in Somers, Wisconsin. The firm is also working with new and returning clients, like Reston, Va.-based Comstock Partners, which again selected Jahn to design another Class A trophy office tower for its expanding mixed-use development outside Washington, D.C.

“Our body of work at Jahn speaks for itself, and we are incredibly proud of the firm’s impact on architecture in our beloved Chicago and throughout the world,” said Evan Jahn. “But as Helmut often said, ‘what counts is what you do next.’ Our team could not be more optimistic about what the future holds for Jahn.”