Dirk Lohan left his native country of Germany to study architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology under the tutelage of his grandfather, Mies van der Rohe. He returned to Germany and finished his studies in architecture and planning at Technische Hochschule, Diplom-Ingenieur, in Munich. When Lohan returned to Chicago, he worked closely with Mies on projects such as the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, the IBM office building in Chicago, and Toronto-Dominion Centre.
Lohan is the founder of Lohan Architecture, PLLC and is registered to practice architecture in the United States and Germany. Previously, he was senior principal at Lohan Associates and Lohan Anderson, as well as a principal at Wight & Co. Under his leadership, these firms produced an impressive portfolio of design solutions including such projects as the McDonald’s Headquarters Campus, the Shedd Oceanarium, the new Soldier Field stadium, as well as many cultural and commercial national and international building projects.
Lohan’s architectural designs have won many awards and have been widely published. He lectures regularly on architecture, art, urbanism and planning, and many of his talks have been published in magazines, both domestically and internationally.
Lohan is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. He is an extensive supporter of Illinois Institute of Technology, serving as a trustee emeritus, former chair of the Mies van der Rohe Society, and is currently on the Board of Overseers at College of Architecture. He has served on numerous not-for-profit boards, including past president of SOS Children’s Villages USA, past president at Adler Planetarium, the executive committee of the Economic Club of Chicago, and the Chicago Maritime Museum.
