Eero Saarinen Projects

On August 20, 1910 a son was born in the Saarinen family – Eero, later a famous designer and architect whose work would shape the new image of the United States after World war II. Eero's choice of profession was influenced by the environment in which he grew up. His father was the famous Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, and his mother was the sculptor and textile designer Loya Saarinen. In 1923 the family immigrated from Finland to the United States. After an invitation of the American philanthropist George Booth, Eliel Saarinen created and then headed the Orenburg Art Academy whose list of famous students includes Charles and Ray Eames, and Florence Noll.

Eero studied sculpture at the Académie de La Grande chaumière in France from 1929 to 1930 and then studied architecture at Yale University. In 1936 he began working as an architect with his father and teaching at the Orenburg Art Academy. Eero took independent architectural practice only after the death of his father in 1950. In just 11 years he managed to create a number of outstanding projects that set the vectors for the development of modern architecture. Innovative materials, forms, and engineering solutions for those years have left in history the name of Eero Saarinen, who passed away at the peak of his career in 1961. I want to recall his key works.

The Organic chair, USA, 1940. Eero Saarinen designed both buildings and interior items with equal success. Together with his friend Charles Eames, whom he met at the Cranburg art Academy, Eero designed the “Organic chair” model for the MoMA competition “Organic design in the home”. The back and seat were made of bent plywood. On a self-made device, designers conducted the first experiments with the technology of volumetric molding of plywood. Although the "Organic chair" took the first place due to wartime and the high cost of the production cycle the project was stuck at the prototype stage. Only in 2006, Vitra launched this model in mass production.

Grasshopper chair, USA, 1946. Florence Knoll, Knoll's design Director, asked her friend Eero to design a chair for a new collection. The designer suggested making legs that went into the armrests, which were shaped like the hind legs of a grasshopper. This elegant and functional solution appealed to Florence, and until 1965 the chair was produced under the Knoll brand. After it was removed from the product line and only in 2014, thanks to Eero's daughter, Susan Saarinen, the chair began to produce the Finnish company Tetrimäki.

The Womb chair, USA, 1948. When Florence Noll discussed the design of this chair with Eero Saarinen, she formulated her wishes as follows:”It should be like a basket filled with pillows where you can curl up." In order to get the desired shape, Saarinen decided to use fiberglass. Since this material was new to production, Florence and Eero asked for help from a boat manufacturer who also experimented with fiberglass. Together, after a number of trials, they managed to make the chair the way the designer intended it: it enveloped the sitting person, creating a sense of security. This chair is still manufactured by Knoll.

Chapel of the Massachusetts Institute of technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, 1955. In the original plan the building looked like a rectangular structure made of glass and steel and resembled the chapel of the Illinois Institute of technology Mies van der Rohe. But under the influence of Matthew Nowitzki's sketches of the Brandeis University chapel and his father's design for Stevens College, the architect decided to change the shape to a cylindrical one.

General Motors technical center, USA, 1955. In Eero Saarinen's career, this project can be called a key one for a number of reasons. This is his independent work, which he completed without any participation of his father. On an area of 130 hectares the architect built a complex called the “industrial Versailles " by Life magazine. The implementation of the ambitious project cost General Motors about $ 100 million, unthinkable money at the time. The goal justified the funds – the project became a landmark not only for the company but also for the country. At the opening of the center US President Dwight Eisenhower gave a welcome speech, and the Times magazine placed a portrait of Eero Saarinen on its cover against the background of the plan of the General Motors complex. In 2014, the center was listed as a National historic landmark.

Miller residence, Columbus, Indiana, USA, 1957. This house was designed by Eero Saarinen for the family of Irwin Miller, an entrepreneur. The building is designed in the architectural tradition of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe: open plan, flat roof. On this project, the architect worked together with interior designer Alexander Gerard and Daniel Kiley who was responsible for the design of the landscape. In 2000 the house was awarded the status of a National historical monument. Today the residence is owned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art and is open to the public.

Chair Tulip Side Chair, 1957. Eero Saarinen believed that the legs of chairs complicate the interior so he decided to reduce their number to a minimum. The designer developed a model of a chair on one support. Saarinen made hundreds of sketches, then made a smaller copy of the chair and then brought the shape to perfection creating various variations from clay. The first factory copies of the designer furnished his living room and dining room. So he tested the models himself as well as his family and close friends.

Trans World Airlines terminal, new York, USA, 1962. The TWA terminal stands out from a number of Saarinen buildings by its sculptural execution. The client wanted the architecture of the building to reflect the "spirit of flight". This time the architect proposed an unusual geometrically simple building, but a complex shape with streamlined lines and smooth curves. This project was the forerunner of the work of architects such as Zaha Hadid but in contrast to modern buildings that are designed using computer programs all calculations and drawings Eero Saarinen did manually.

Hockey rink for Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, 1958. Saarinen's pride in this project was the roof, for which the building was nicknamed the “Yale whale”. From the Central 90-meter arch of reinforced concrete a mesh structure of cables radiates. This architectural solution made the roof double curvature possible.

Us Embassy, London, UK, 1960. This is one of the few projects of Eero Saarinen outside of the United States. The architect had a difficult task: the building had to fit harmoniously into the historical context of Central London and at the same time become a “showcase” of current solutions to modern architecture. Saarinen made a choice in favor of classical forms in a modern design. Still the building attracted a lot of criticism from English architects and in particular the symbolic sculpture of an eagle on the roof. However in October 2009 the building was listed as a protected monument in the UK for its modernist concrete facade. This status prohibits the owner from changing the appearance of the monument, which is important in the course of recent events. A new project is being implemented for the US Embassy in London, and the former building was sold to the Qatari group.

CBS broadcasting company building, New York, USA, 1965. This is the only completed project by Eero Saarinen’s skyscraper. This 38-story building was one of the tallest at the time of its construction. The architect chose black granite as a decoration instead of the usual glass canvas for which it received the nickname "Black Rock".

Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, 1965. Eero Saarinen and his father Eliel participated separately in the competition for the construction of this memorial. When the letter for the winner of the contest was delivered to the office the letter “E” was on the envelope instead of the name. Everyone thought it was addressed to Eliel but they were wrong. His son Eero won the project. Working on this structure Saarinen based on the classical proportions of the arches but he covered the reinforced concrete structure with steel sheets to give the object a modern look. There is an observation deck at the top of the 192-meter "Arch" where visitors are transported by an elevator made specifically for this project.