Wendell Campbell (April 27, 1927 – July 9, 2008) was an African American architect who studied under Mies Van Der Rohe and Ludwig Hilberseimer[1] while attending the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Campbell graduated in 1957 with a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and City Planning, and after difficulty in finding work due to racial prejudice he founded his own firm in 1966.
[4] Growing up as the son of a carpenter, who was the first black general contractor in Chicago,[5] Campbell often assisted his father with projects helping to gain carpentry skills from early in his life.
[4] After being offered a full-tuition scholarship from Commonwealth Edison, in 1957 Campbell graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a BA in Architecture and City Planning.
[1] After graduation Campbell secured a job at the Purdue Calumet Development Foundation, where he worked for ten years on various urban renewal projects in the region.
[16] According to his webpage on the NOMA website, Campbell is also credited with restoration of the Michigan Avenue Draw Bridge and the Metcalf Federal Building and redevelopment plans for major cities like New Orleans, Las Vegas, Chicago and Milwaukee.