Ben Weese dead: Preservationist and rebel architect was 94

Architect Ben Weese preserved, created and rebelled.

He was part of a small group of architects, which included his brother, Harry Weese, who came together to rescue the Glessner House from an uncertain fate in 1965 when the historic home at 1800 S. Prairie Ave. went up for sale.

Mr. Weese co-founded the Chicago Architecture Foundation to raise money to buy the house, which was designed by H.H. Richardson and represents an essential step in the development of distinctly American architecture.

The group became the heart of the city's preservation movement and evolved into the Chicago Architecture Center, the beloved non-profit that has offered architecture tours since 1971.

Mr. Weese, who designed everything from churches and homes to low-income housing projects, libraries and large apartment buildings, some as high as 28 stories, focused on the human experience of users.

His renovation work on the library at Grinnell College was nationally recognized and featured unique double-decker study carrels.

His work in Chicago includes the Eugenie Lane Apartments in Old Town and Lake Village East apartment building in Kenwood.

Mr. Weese died April 29 from complications from Alzheimer's disease. He was 94.

Mr. Weese was not a fan of the strict adherence to modernist principles, like the glass and steel designs of famed architect Mies van der Rohe. And he drew a line in the sand when, in 1976, he learned of an exhibit coming town that focused on Mies without showcasing other influential architects who made their mark in Chicago. So, he and a few other architects hosted a separate exhibit featuring a variety of designs and styles.

The dueling exhibits drew media attention and Mr. Weese and his pals soon came to call themselves the "Chicago Seven," a name originally popularized by another group of rebels who were put on trial following the chaos of the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

"He helped advance a vision of architecture that departed from the strict dogma of Mies van der Rohe's modernism," his wife, Cynthia, who's also an architect, said.

"Ben's buildings were often eccentric, wacky and wonderful," said Stuart Cohen, a friend and collaborator in the Chicago Seven's plans to change the culture of Chicago architecture.

Mr. Weese never visited Farnsworth House, the iconic Mies-designed home in suburban Plano that's a destination for architectural pilgrims from around the world. In a 1975 issue of Architectural Record magazine, he used the words "brutal," "austere" and "overpowering" to describe the dwelling's modernist aesthetic, even asking: "Where do you put the chifforobe — against the window, as I once saw in a Mies apartment?"

He made an exception when it came to visiting his son, Dan Weese, who's also an architect, and lives in a building designed by Mies.

Mr. Weese was always a bit of an outsider and iconoclast. When he bought his first home in Lincoln Park in 1957, it was north of North Avenue, which was then seen as a dividing line of wealth that's hard to imagine in the neighborhood's current posh environs. It was an old rooming house just west of the Lincoln Park Zoo that was built in 1872 and needed a lot of work.

"His brother was like, 'You're crazy, nobody's moving north of North Avenue,'" Mr. Weese's son recalled. "But he was always kind of going where you weren't supposed to go, and looking back, I appreciate that take on life and making decisions," Dan said.

Mr. Weese was born June 4, 1929, in Evanston and grew up in Kenilworth before his family moved to Barrington, then a rural community, where he acquired a love of gardening and goats. His father, Harry Ernest Weese, was a banker. His mother, Marjorie Mohr Weese, was a homemaker.

Mr. Weese was a football player and pole vaulter at Barrington High School and came to see architecture as a vocation while attending Harvard University and the school's Graduate School of Design.

His studies were interrupted by the Korean War, when his religious beliefs led him to identify as a conscientious objector. His alternative service brought him to Germany in 1952, where he worked in a camp for refugees escaping from communist East Germany.

He later finished his studies at Harvard and worked for his brother's firm, Harry Weese and Associates.

Harry was a giant in the architectural world whose work in Chicago includes the Time-Life Building and the Metropolitan Correctional Center. One project the Weese brothers collaborated on was the restoration of the Auditorium Theater.

In 1977 Mr. Weese, along with his wife and several partners, started their own firm that's known today as Weese Langley Weese. The couple worked together on many projects, including the creation of a children's education center at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Mr. Weese was an early advocate of sustainability and environmental causes who preferred to walk or ride his bicycle to work, often slapping an “UGLY” sticker on SUV’s he passed on the way, according to friend and fellow architect John Eifler.

He also served on the Chicago Commission on Landmarks, was a board member on the Graham Foundation, and helped revive the Chicago Architectural Club.

In 2011, Mr. Weese received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Jen Masengarb, Executive Director of AIA Chicago, said his career was "marked by his service to society and a deep awareness of the ways in which buildings shape the lives of our everyday activities."

In addition to his wife and son, Mr. Weese is survived by his daughter, Catharine Weese, and five grandchildren.

A memorial is being planned for the fall.