Walter Netsch
Walter Netsch (
1920-) is a
German-
American architect based in Chicago. He designed the
United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which was named a
National Historic Landmark in 2004. He is 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.
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, and later became a partner for design.
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,
University of Illinois at Chicago, and
University of Iowa. He designed several buildings at
Northwestern University and was the focus of an
exhibit at the Northwestern University Library in February-March 2006.
Netsch has taught at several universities, received numerous awards and honorary degrees, and currently serves 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.
Netsch is a collector and patron of the arts, along with his wife,
Illinois politician
Dawn Clark Netsch, to whom he has been married since 1963. The couple's art collection has been exhibited several times.
Now retired, Netsch maintains a private consulting practice and is viewed as a mentor by many
architects.
