About Walter Netsch
Acclaimed architect Walter A. Netsch, Jr. was born February 23, 1920, in Chicago. As a young man, he was inspired by iconic Chicago architecture — Wright’s Robie House, Sullivan’s Auditorium Building and Carson, Pirie, Scott, and Company Building, and the modern architecture he saw at the Century of Progress International Exposition in 1933-34.
Early Career
Mr. Netsch studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and upon receiving his degree in 1943, he enlisted in the United States Army Corps of Engineers. He began his career as an architect working for L. Morgan Yost. In 1947, he joined Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), when the firm was designing Oak Ridge, Tennessee, an Atomic Energy Commission town. Mr. Netsch transferred to SOM’s Chicago office in 1951. His design of the landmark Inland Steel Building (1954), the first skyscraper to be built in Chicago’s Loop following the Great Depression, was completed by Bruce Graham.
In his first decade at SOM, Mr. Netsch designed buildings and environments in San Francisco, Okinawa, Tokyo, and Chicago. Similar to Frank Lloyd Wright and other Chicago architects since the city’s 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, Mr. Netsch was influenced by Japanese architecture, in particular by tatami mat proportions. He was a SOM partner for design from 1955-79 and, in 1967, he was elected a fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
Early projects for Mr. Netsch included the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California (1954), and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado (1954-64). The Air Force Academy was dedicated as a National Historic Landmark on its fiftieth anniversary in 2004. The Cadet Chapel gained Mr. Netsch and SOM international recognition. Visually the most compelling structure on the Academy’s grounds (as well as Colorado’s top man-made tourist attraction), the chapel’s seventeen soaring silvery spires ascend to a height of 150 feet.
Cadet Chapel -- Sketch
The structure of the Cadet Chapel included a frame of tetrahedrons.
U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel
The Cadet Chapel, located in Colorado Springs, CO, was completed in 1963.
Cadet Chapel -- Inside
The inside of the chapel features stained glass windows that progress from darker to lighter as they approach the altar.
Field Theory
Mr. Netsch developed his signature architectural aesthetic known as Field Theory by rotating basic squares into complex geometric components that radiate out from cores containing utilities and stairwells. In addition to breaking the Miesian box, Field Theory provides aesthetic and psychological variety, as well as programmatic and structural flexibility. Open spaces are typically defined by both vertical and horizontal planes and are accessible via multiple levels. His projects have been featured in numerous architectural publications such as Inland Architect, Progressive Architecture, Architectural Forum, Architectural Record, L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, L’Architettura, and Deutsche Bauzeitung.
Field Theory -- Sketch
This depicts a sketch of the Behavioral Sciences Building at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The building implements field theory, which is based on mathematical proportion - specifically, rotating squares into complex structures.
Behavioral Sciences Building at University of Illinois at Chicago
The Behavioral Sciences Building of the University of Illinois at Chicago was one of the buildings designed by Netsch for UIC's Circle Campus. The Behavioral Sciences Building is a clear, distinct view of Netsch's application of field theory.
UIC Circle Campus -- Watercolor Painting
A watercolor painting by Netsch himself, of UIC's Circle Campus. The campus was designed in Brutalist style, which used materials such as concrete and brick for construction. Netsch's plan was to organize buildings by function through each ring of the circle.
Other Projects
Northwestern University facilities designed by Mr. Netsch include the Lakefill project (1962-68); Lindheimer Astronomical Research Center (1966; razed 1995); Rebecca Crown Center (1968); O. T. Hogan Biological Sciences Building (1970); University Main Library (1970); Frances Searle Building (1972); Regenstein Music Building (1977); and Seeley G. Mudd Library for Science and Engineering (1977). Regarding the University Library, Mr. Netsch related, “The design and programming was one of the most satisfying experiences of my professional life.”
He designed libraries and other facilities at the Illinois Institute of Technology; the University of Iowa; the University of Illinois at Chicago; Wells College (Aurora, New York); Texas Christian University (Fort Worth); and the University of Chicago.
Mr. Netsch is also known for his work on hospitals and clinics, including the Mayo Clinic and Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center. Museum designs include the east wing of the Art Institute of Chicago and Miami University Art Museum (Oxford, Ohio). He has held teaching positions at Rhode Island School of Design and at several Big Ten universities where he has also received honorary degrees, including an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Northwestern in 1980. He served as Commissioner of the Chicago Park District from 1986-89.
University Library
The library's design incorporates elements from Field Theory. Netsch meant for the library to be a complex machine -- one that depicts the early modern movement of architecture.
Hardin Library for Health Sciences at the University of Iowa
The Health Sciences Library also incorporates Netsch's Field Theory and Brutalist architecture. The stepped interior pathway through the building and to the lower level mimics walking into a book.
More Information
This website is inspired by an exhibit celebrating Walter Netsch that was on display on the first floor of University Library in February and March of 2006. The exhibit included artifacts housed in the Art Collection, University Archives, and Special Collections of Northwestern University Libraries, as well as Netsch’s private collections.
A monograph dedicated to Netsch’s life and work, Walter A. Netsch, FAIA: A Critical Appreciation and Sourcebook, was also published by the Northwestern University Press in 2008.