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By Brent Hoffmann, 2005

“A contractor friend asked me, ‘Do you want to see it up close?’  It was in 1988, and he was doing restoration of the statue of Ceres on top of the Board of Trade,” said John Syvertsen.  “We climbed up the stairs, up a ladder and through the door to the roof.  It was cold and windy, so we had to make our way very carefully along the scaffolding to the statue.  ‘Now that we’re here, 45 stories up,’ my friend said, ‘There’s a place that will give you the best view – it’s on Ceres’ left shoulder.’ So, there I was, standing on Ceres’ shoulder, holding onto her head, and somewhat terrified.  I’ve been an architect for so long,” he continued, “and that’s one of the anecdotes that I enjoyed sharing with tour-takers on my Evolution of the Skyscraper tour.”

Philosophy, then Architecture
John grew up in Milwaukee and found early inspiration from his father, an industrial and interior designer.  After majoring in philosophy at Georgetown University, he earned a master’s degree at Princeton University.  John continued studies under a Loeb Fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

As a practicing architect for more than 40 years, he led firms ranging in size from three to 1,000 people.  Included were the 375 professionals of the combined architecture-engineering firm of OWP/P and Cannon Design.  A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, John was the interim leader of AIA’s Chicago office prior to the Institute’s hiring of former CAC staffer Jen Masengarb as executive director.

“I’ve enjoyed teaching, too,” he said.  “I taught architecture courses at the University of Illinois-Chicago, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Minnesota, and at the Illinois Institute of Technology.”  John now teaches professional practice, twice a week, at the Chicago Studio of the Virginia Tech School of Architecture.

He is chairman of the Urban Design Task Force for the Chicago Central Area Action Plan.  John was a member of the Chicago Design Initiative and serves on the University of Illinois-Chicago Chancellor’s Design Review Committee.  He is past-president and a current member of the board of trustees of the Graham Foundation.  In 1996, John was president of the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects.  He served as chairman of the Board of Regents of the American Architectural Foundation as well as on the Board of Directors of Archeworks, and was a board member of Family Focus, Illinois.

Chairman, Now Docent
John has a long history with the Chicago Architecture Foundation.  He was CAF’s board chairman, 2006-2008, and continues as an emeritus trustee of the organization.  Said John, “Occasionally, I’d stand in for Lynn Osmond at Docent Council meetings. I was blown away seeing, first-hand, the incredible brilliance and dedication of all who were involved.  I learned a ton and recall saying that, as soon as I could, I would apply to the program to become a docent. My dream was fulfilled in 2016.  Over the course of a long career, I’d learned about architecture… but didn’t have occasion to link the buildings and hear about early technology.  And I still marvel at how much I learned in the docent training program.

“My favorite tour is A Walk Through Time,” he continued. “It’s a great way to help visitors wrap their arms around the history of Chicago and the remarkable innovations that were developed here in the making of architecture, whether I’m telling the story of pre-fire Chicago construction at the Page Brothers Building or describing the beautiful Art Deco details of the lobby of the Chicago Motor Club. And I always suggest that this tour, while about Chicago, can stimulate an interest in any city in the world. Because all cities have marvelous stories.”

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