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Biographical Summary
John Donald Cordwell was born in 1920 in London, England. He studied
architecture there at the Regent Street Polytechnic School of
Architecture from 1936 until 1939. His education was interrupted
by military service in the Royal Air Force from 1940 to 1945.
He returned to study at the Architectural Association (1945-46)
and the School of Planning and Regional Research (1947). Cordwell's
work experience began in the London office of Sir Herbert Baker
(1936-40), followed by jobs with Sir Howard Robertson (1945-47)
and in the office of Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew (1947-50). He immigrated
to the United States and settled in Chicago in 1951. In that year
Cordwell took a job with PACE Associates, but soon left that position
to direct the activities of the Chicago Plan Commission (1952-56).
In 1957 he formed a partnership with Louis Solomon, now known
as Solomon Cordwell Buenz and Associates. He retired from that
firm in 1988 to practice independently. He held honors as an Associate
of the Royal Institute of British Architects and an Associate
of the Town Planning Institute and was elected to the College
of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 1970. Cordwell
died in Chicago in 1999.
Interview Highlights
Cordwell speaks about his early years; the pre-war years in London;
study at the Regent Street Polytechnic School of Architecture
and the Architectural Association; problems of class distinction;
the office of Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew; immigrating to the United
States; PACE Association; the Central Area Plan for Chicago; Fort
Dearborn project; McCormick Place; Louis R. Solomon; building
Sandburg Village; working with Arthur Rubloff; Presidential Towers.
Sandburg Village; Chicago, 1960-1975. Photo by John Zukowsky.
Interview Excerpt
"Well, architecture in itself, to me, wasn't enough. It wasn't
a total understanding of the whole society, and planning gave
me that background. It gave me the background of the environment
and what had to be done. That was terribly important to me, to
understand more than the building, but also the grounds on which
the building stood and the environment in which the building was
to be placed....One building is not enough. You've got to create
the whole ambience that the building is in: the society of the
people that are going to live in these buildings and how they
lived, who they are and how you are going to improve their lives.
I want to leave the place a better place than I found it. I think
that's the biggest thing, to make life just a little better than
I found it, and I'm trying to do that." (p. 282)
Other Resources at The Art Institute of Chicago
Architectural drawings may be consulted by appointment in the
Department
of Architecture.
See also oral histories of other architects at PACE Associates,
Charles Genther and Ezra
Gordon; and architects who were also interested in urban planning:
Christopher Chamales and Matthew
Rockwell.
Funding for this oral history was provided by Harold Schiff,
of Schal Associates.
About the Chicago Architects Oral History Project
Department of Architecture • Ryerson & Burnham Archives
Send questions or comments to:
Ryerson & Burnham Archives, Chicago Architects Oral History Project
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