Netsch was the chief architect for the U.S. Air Force Academy, including the distinctive Cadet Chapel, seen here

The Regenstein Library at the University of Chicago is one of Walter Netsch's designs.

Walter Netsch (February 23, 1920-June 15, 2008) was an American architect based in Chicago. He was most closely associated with the brutalist style of architecture, as well as the firm of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. His signature aesthetic is known as Field Theory and is based on rotating squares into complex shapes. He may be most well known for designing the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which was named a National Historic Landmark in 2004. Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA or Air Force),[1] located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, is an institution for the undergraduate education of officers for the United States Air Force. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... The Joseph M. Regenstein Library is the main library of the University of Chicago, named after industrialist and philanthropist Joseph Regenstein. ... For other uses, see University of Chicago (disambiguation). ... is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Architect (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Chicago (disambiguation). ... Brutalism is an architectural style that spawned from the Modernist architectural movement and which flourished from the 1950s to the 1970s. ... The architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM) was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings; in 1939 they were joined by John Merrill. ... The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA or Air Force),[1] located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, is an institution for the undergraduate education of officers for the United States Air Force. ... Colorado Springs is most populous Home Rule Municipality in the State of Colorado. ... This article or section needs additional references or sources to improve its verifiability. ...

After graduating from The Leelanau School, a boarding school in Michigan, Netsch studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and then enlisted in the United States Army Corps of Engineers. He began his career as an architect working for L. Morgan Yost in Kenilworth, Illinois. In 1947, he joined Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, which initially assigned him to work in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Later he became a partner for design in that firm. The Leelanau School is a coed boarding high school located in Glen Arbor Michigan. ... A boarding school is usually a fee-charging school where some or all pupils not only study, but also live during term time, with their fellow students and possibly teachers. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... “MIT” redirects here. ... The United States Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, is a federal agency made up of some 34,600 civilian and 650 military men and women. ... Incorporated Village in 1889. ... Oak Ridge is an incorporated city in Anderson and Roane Counties in East Tennessee, about 25 miles northwest of Knoxville. ...

University Hall at the University of Illinois at Chicago, part of Netsch's original design for the Chicago Circle campus.

Following his work on the Air Force Academy, Netsch led the team which designed the original University of Illinois Circle Campus. The campus design grouped buildings into functional clusters and now constitutes most of the east campus buildings at the University of Illinois at Chicago.^[1] During his career, Netsch designed 15 libraries, as well as academic buildings for colleges and universities in the United States and Japan, including Grinnell College, Miami University, Wells College, Illinois Institute of Technology, Sophia University, Texas Christian University, University of Chicago, and University of Iowa. He did the initial design for the Inland Steel Building in Chicago; built circa 1956-1957, this was the first skyscraper built in Chicago's Loop after the Great Depression.^[2] He also designed the east wing of the Art Institute of Chicago.^[3] Netsch designed several buildings at Northwestern University and was the focus of an exhibit at the Northwestern University Library in February-March 2006.^[4] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (768x1024, 469 KB) Summary University of Illinois at Chicago - University Hall at East Campus (taken October 2005 by Onar Vikingstad) Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: University of Illinois at Chicago Metadata This file contains additional information... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (768x1024, 469 KB) Summary University of Illinois at Chicago - University Hall at East Campus (taken October 2005 by Onar Vikingstad) Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: University of Illinois at Chicago Metadata This file contains additional information... This article is about the University of Illinois at Chicago. ... This article is about the University of Illinois at Chicago. ... Grinnell students celebrate the end of the semester outside Gates Residence Hall in May 2006. ... , This article is about the university in Oxford, Ohio. ... Wells College is a nationally recognized private coeducational liberal arts college located in Aurora, Cayuga County, New York, on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake. ... State Street Village, S.R. Crown Hall, Armour Main Building Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private Ph. ... For the Bulgarian university, see Sofia University. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see University of Chicago (disambiguation). ... The University of Iowa, also commonly called Iowa or locally UI, is a major coeducational research university located on a 1,900-acre (8 km²) campus in Iowa City, Iowa, US, on the banks of the Iowa River in East Central Iowa. ... The Inland Steel Building viewed from the West. ... For other uses, see Skyscraper (disambiguation). ... The Loop is what locals call the historical center of downtown Chicago. ... For other uses, see The Great Depression (disambiguation). ... The Art Institute of Chicago is a fine art museum located in Chicago, Illinois. ... Northwestern University (NU) is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university with campuses located in Evanston, Illinois and downtown Chicago. ... It has been suggested that Transportation Library, Northwestern University be merged into this article or section. ...

Netsch taught at several universities, received numerous awards and honorary degrees, and served as a trustee at the Rhode Island School of Design and a member of the Board of Governors at Northwestern University Library. From 1986-1989, he served as Commissioner of the Chicago Park District, appointed by mayor Harold Washington. He was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 1967. In 1995, he was interviewed for the Chicago Architects Oral History Project.^[5] The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD, pronounced /RIZ-dee/) is one of the premier fine arts institutions in the United States. ... Harold Washington (April 15, 1922 – November 25, 1987) was an American lawyer and politician who became the first African American Mayor of Chicago, serving from 1983 until his death. ... The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. ...

Netsch was a collector and patron of the arts, along with his wife, Illinois politician Dawn Clark Netsch, to whom he was married since 1963. The couple's art collection has been exhibited several times. This article is about the U.S. State. ... Dawn Clark Netsch was the 1994 Democtratic nominee for Illinois governor. ...

Netsch maintained a private consulting practice and was viewed as a mentor by many architects.

References

General

• Chicago Architects Oral History Project
• Northwestern University Library

Notes