Mr. Netsch

Walter Netsch (pictured at left in 1986) died yesterday. He was an American architect based in Chicago. Netsch spent nearly all of his career in the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). He was most closely associated with the brutalist style of architecture.

One of my favorite buildings is his Inland Steel Building. I even added a black + white image on the side panel of this blog! The building was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1998.

Chicago Tribune piece on his life.

Inland Steel Building, Chicago (designed by SOM, one of the principal designers)


Cadet Chapel, United States Air Force Academy, (chief architect), Colorado, named a National Historic Landmark in 2004

University of IL at Chicago (UIC), University Hall Brutalist architecture is a product of the modernist architectural movement.

"The early style, which flourished in the 1950-1970s, was largely inspired by the work of architect Le Corbusier. The term Brutalist Architecture originates from the French béton brut, or "raw concrete", a term used by Le Corbusier to describe his choice of material."

Thanks Wikipedia!

I am not a fan of Netsch's UIC master plan. But then again, I'm not a huge fan of most brutalist architecture as a whole.

Here's to you Mr. Netsch! What an interesting portfolio you leave behind!