Designer of the Air Force Academy's Cadet Chapel dies

The designer of arguably the most recognizable building in Colorado has died.

Walter Netsch Jr. broke new ground in modern architecture with his design of the Cadet Chapel at the Air Force Academy. He died of pneumonia Sunday at 88 at his Chicago home, his wife, Dawn Clark Netsch said Monday.

The American Institute of Architects named the chapel the 51st most popular building in the country in 2007.

"Most people will tell you that the Cadet Chapel is his masterpiece," Dawn Netsch said.

The building hasn't always inspired reverence, his widow said, recalling detractors criticizing the design as anti-religious and downright weird.

The chapel opened in 1963 — the same year the couple were married.

One of Dawn Netsch's most vivid memories is of her husband sprawled across the floor agonizing over the stained glass windows for the cathedral.

"His mind was constantly at work," she said. "His role in life was to try to design things the way they ought to be and not the way they are. He planned for how cities would look in 2020."

Inspired by Notre Dame in Paris and the Cathedral of Chartres, the chapel has a modern, Gothic flair, with 17 spires resembling a squadron of fighter jets climbing up to the sky.

But it's had problems, which Air Force Chief of Program Development Duane Boyle knows better than anyone.

Netsch intended for the building to have sheet-metal flashing that would divert rainwater, but the Air Force decided it was too costly and opted for caulk instead. It was a costly decision because the chapel roof leaks causing interior damage and constant repairs.

Boyle said it costs around $300,000 a year just for repairs and he's hoping for an overhaul, saying the interior plaster in starting to wear down.

"We're getting to the point where we need to make a decision or risk long-term damage," he said.

The chapel cost $3.5 million to build. Installing the flashing and other repairs it needs would run around 10 times that to fix, according to Boyle.

Netsch also urged buying land so that there would be a buffer between the academy and Colorado Springs long before development began moving north as the city's population began to grow, he added.

"Walter was so ahead of his time," Boyle said. "He gave us modern architecture before it came back in style."

A decade after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Netsch designed the Inland Steel Building, the first skyscraper to be built in Chicago's loop after the Great Depression.

He also designed part of the Art Institute of Chicago, Northwestern University and the University of Chicago.

And for Boyle, Walter is not going away anytime soon.

He named his 11-year-old son after his idol.