Harry Weese
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Harry Mohr Weese (June 30, 1915 - October 29, 1998) was an American architect, who was born in Evanston, Illinois [1] in the Chicago suburbs who had an important role in 20th Century modernism and historic preservation.
His brother, Ben Weese, was also a renowned architect. Harry Weese studied under Finnish architect, Alvar Aalto at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating in 1938, and went on to study city planning while on a fellowship at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. Weese was also influenced by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen, whom he met at Cranbrook. He built primarily in the modern architectural style, but integrated other styles as he felt appropriate for the project. Out of Cranbrook, Weese joined the major architectural and engineering firm, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. During World War II, Weese served as an engineer on a U.S. Navy destroyer. In 1947, he started his own architectural firm. Weese is also well known for his firm advocacy of historic preservation and was remembered as the architect who "shaped Chicago’s skyline and the way the city thought about everything from the lakefront to its treasure-trove of historical buildings." [2] Weese also served as a judge for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial design competition.
[edit] Works
Harry Weese is most famous for having designed the stations of the Washington Metro system, considered one of the best examples of the brutalist style of architecture.
Other well known works include:
- The United States Embassy Building in Accra, Ghana.
- Arena Stage, Washington, D.C.
- Time-Life Building, Chicago, Illinois [2]
- First Baptist Church, in Columbus, Indiana
- Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist in Chicago, Illinois
- The Humanities Building at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, widely considered one the Midwest's best examples of brutalist architecture but slated for demolition soon
- The Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, formerly known as the Elvehjem Museum of Art
- The Washington, DC Metro System.
- The former U.S. Embassy to Ghana in Accra.
- River Cottages at 357-365 N. Canal Street in Chicago. Sloped, structurally expressive facade responds to the angle and cross bracing of the railroad bridge directly across the river.
- William J. Campbell United States Courthouse annex in downtown Chicago. Brutalistic jail which has no window bars, instead each cell is provided with a vertical slot window. These tall narrow window openings work with the triangular footprint of the building, making the building reminiscent of a slender I.B.M computer card from the 1950's and 60's.
Weese also led numerous restoration projects including:
- Louis Sullivan's Auditorium Building in Chicago, Illinois 1967. [2]
- Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois [1]
- Orchestra Hall, Chicago, Illinois [1]
- Union Station, Washington, DC [1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Muschamp, Herbert. "Harry Weese, 83, Designer of Metro System in Washington", The New York Times, 1998, November 3.
- ^ a b c "Harry Weese, Visionary Architect Known as 'Chicago's Conscience'", Chicago Tribune, 1998, November 1.
