As a presence, he will live on in his legacy of work and mentorship.
The world, the architectural world in particular, mourns the loss of Walter Netsch, whose architectural Field Theory borrowed from quantum physics to describe the infinite number of variations that are possible from something as basic as the square. He joined Skidmore Owings & Merrill in 1947--where he thrived for 32 years--and was lead designer for the Air Force Academy Chapel, with its 17 angular spires soaring skyward. The building is the 1996 AIA Twenty-five Year Award recipient and the 51st selection in the America's 150 Favorite Architecture selections. Among his huge body of work is also the Inland Steel building in Chicago, which foreshadowed the re-emergence of Chicago as a vanguard of architectural excellence. For more insight into Walter Netsch, visit this Art Institute of Chicago site.
AIArchitect will have a more complete remembrance in the July 11 issue.
Comments (6)
This is great! Thanks so much. Hope it will continue.
Posted by Patek Philippe | October 4, 2010 5:55 AM
Posted on October 4, 2010 05:55
Thank you ,Walter, for giving me my first job in the business. I learned the "SOM way" of Architecture with life long use and pride.
Posted by Ted Eckhardt, AIA | June 20, 2008 4:57 PM
Posted on June 20, 2008 16:57
Bucked the modernist doctrine? I just read that Walter Netsch designed the Inland Steel Building in 1956, the first major construction in Chicago's Loop since 1936. It appears to be a modernist building to me. It still looks fantastic 50 years later. It surly was beyond belief when built.
Posted by Anonymous | June 20, 2008 3:02 PM
Posted on June 20, 2008 15:02
Doug that is a TERIFFIC picture of Walter. It perfectly captures the Walter I was fortunate enough to work for and come to know at the Chicago Park District. A civic artist, arguably even more effective in that regard than that other Chicago Modernist iconoclast, Harry Weese. Both men bucked the Modernist doctrines and both "had the high beams on" looking for a better way forward for Chicago.
Posted by Eric Davis, AIA | June 20, 2008 12:03 PM
Posted on June 20, 2008 12:03
In addition to his accomplishments as a great architect, he will also be remembered as one who stood up to the tyranny of the insane CEU program!
Posted by Anonymous | June 20, 2008 11:04 AM
Posted on June 20, 2008 11:04
Just by chance riding on the same elevator with Walter Netsch from time to time at 22 West Monroe made me a better architect. There are many SOM summer interns who remember how Walter was so cordial to invite them into his home for architectural gatherings. He was a giant. We were tiny. He made us feel special.
Posted by Anonymous | June 20, 2008 10:24 AM
Posted on June 20, 2008 10:24