Over 2,000 Northwestern students upvoted a post on Fizz, a college-specific social media platform, in March featuring a picture of Main Library with the caption: “I’m sorry but this building is so ugly.”
Critique of the 1970 building dates back as far as a year after its completion, when the Chicago Tribune called the building’s modern design “innovative” but “unusual.”
The prevailing architectural style for Main Library’s construction was the sleek steel and glass design of skyscrapers like the Willis Tower and 875 North Michigan Avenue.
These buildings were designed by the renowned Chicago-based architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill — to which the library’s architect, Walter Netsch, said he belonged but never fit in.
From 1968 to 1972, he designed the Frances Searle Building, Main Library and Rebecca Crown Center on NU’s campus.
Netsch broke out of the box of SOM’s cubic minimalism by pouring concrete into expressive, unusual patterns like Main’s “books in a bookshelf” appearance. These techniques have since become trademarks of the Brutalist architectural style.
This avant-garde approach resulted in bitter rivalries between Netsch and his peers at SOM — most famously with Bruce Graham, the architect responsible for many of Chicago’s notable skyscrapers.
On most Monday mornings, Netsch would storm out of partner meetings until he suffered a heart attack in 1979. As Netsch recovered, Graham seized the opportunity to shove his belongings to the corridor and dismissed him from the partnership.
NU, however, readily indulged his novel ideas, offering Netsch sweeping creative freedom. Netsch would call Main Library’s construction “one of the most satisfying experiences of my professional life.”
The building’s design, while immediately lauded as a “major work of the twentieth century” by Architectural Record, remains the subject of much criticism today.
Weinberg freshman Patrick Duncan said the building’s dim lighting, single entrance and confusing layout make a headache for someone trying to study.
“I just wish Deering was open,” he said.
The commitment to artistry over practicality is a common critique of Brutalism that often leads to complaints of inaccessibility or unsightliness.
“Netsch was more interested with the idea in many ways than the livability,” said Robert Bruegmann, professor emeritus of art history, architecture and urban planning at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “He considered himself a kind of philosopher.”
The Brutalist philosophy — raw, material honesty and unadornment — complimented the mid-century urban renewal movement in the United States, according to Elihu Rubin, professor of architecture and urban studies at the Yale School of Architecture.
During this time, Rubin said the government razed neighborhoods it deemed slums to build concrete parking garages and civic centers for suburbanites.
He said, to progressives, Brutalism’s earnestness represented the optimism of the postwar liberal order. To its dispossessed, hulking institutional buildings — like Main Library — represented faceless bureaucratic cruelty.
“We’ve come to deeply regret the losses and sacrifices of that time,” Rubin said. “But at the time, planners, politicians and property owners looked at these spaces convinced that there was a role for the government to come in and ameliorate these conditions.”
Many considered the approach immoral, with critics calling for the replacement of these buildings. More than a decade ago, NU announced demolition plans for two of its major Brutalist buildings: Prentice Women’s Hospital and Norris University Center.
Jeanne Gang, founding partner of architecture and design firm Studio Gang, was among the many architects to advocate for the preservation of Prentice.
She created an ambitious redesign that included skywalks connecting Prentice to neighboring buildings and a 31-story skyscraper atop the existing structure.
Despite Gang’s efforts, the proposal was denied and Prentice was demolished. For Studio Gang, this decision posed consequences not only for the retention of significant buildings but also for the environment.
“There can be this idea that, ‘It’s hit the 50 year mark, now it’s too old to serve us,’” said Claire Cahan, a principal and chief learning officer at Studio Gang. “But the best thing you can do for the environment is start with what’s there.”
Netsch’s NU buildings make extensive use of concrete. The manufacturing of concrete, along with steel and aluminum, produces a large amount of carbon dioxide. Yet, Cahan said demolition often releases more carbon dioxide than renovation, so architects must work with buildings’ existing structures to address sustainability issues.
Main Library’s most recent renovations were in 2013, with small-scale adjustments to lighting, heating and cooling. These have helped put the library on the same eco-friendly footing as the newer buildings on campus.
The complaints of brutality in architecture aren’t unique to just Brutalist buildings; many other styles — including that of Deering Library — were considered just as offensive by general audiences.
The name “Gothic” was used pejoratively by writers in the Italian Renaissance, meant to evoke the perceived barbarity of the Goths whom they held responsible for the fall of the Roman Empire.
Yet, centuries later, the style became ubiquitous in universities and religious structures. Little of the initial criticism remains, and Gothic buildings — like Deering Library and University Hall — remain among the most iconic on NU’s campus.
“The parallels here are so striking,” said Bruegmann. “At the moment, you have people saying it’s uncomfortable or overwhelming. But I think 50 years from now Brutalism will have fallen into its place in history and there will be a consensus as to where it fits.”
While many await the reopening of Deering so they can finally leave Main behind, both buildings belong to a history of controversial, forward-thinking architecture.
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