John C. Harkness

Who is John C. Harkness?

John Cheesman Harkness is an American architect who was a founder and partner of The Architects Collaborative in Cambridge, Massachusetts with Walter Gropius and six other architects. He was a part of TAC from its inception in 1945 until the firm's ultimate demise in 1995.

He was born in New York City to architect Albert Harkness and was educated at the Harvard Graduate School of Design graduating in 1941. He was also briefly in the American Field Service. In 1945, shortly after the founding of TAC, he and his wife Sarah P. Harkness joined forces with another architectural couple Norman and Jean Fletcher, also founders of TAC, to submit entries for the Smith College Dormitories competition hosted by Progressive Architecture magazine. The Harkness' came in second place. During his work at TAC, Harkness was involved in designing many public and private school buildings throughout New England. Most notably, Wayland High School, which received considerable attention for its "campus" style and new methods of instruction. He was elected into the National Academy of Design in 1971 as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1994.