Shaping the Future - Eero Saarinen

“The purpose of architecture is to shelter and enhance man’s life on earth and to fulfil his belief in the nobility of his existence” – Eero Saarinen -1959

Eero Saarinen born in 1910 was a designer in shaping the American post-war design movement. As a Finnish-American architect, Eero Saarinen was very successful throughout his career, designing different projects from large to small buildings – from the Gateway Arch in St.Louis and the TWA Flight Center at New York’s JFK Airport to community churches and individual homes.

In the late 1940s, Saarinen designed a number of curvy, sculptural chairs for the company Knoll. Choosing his best two, Saarinen designed the “Grasshopper” chair in 1946 which is made from bent plywood with an upholstered seat. Two years later he designed the “Womb” chair which is similar to his “Conversation” chair. The only thing that is different is that the “Womb” chair is cosier and an ottoman was added to it.

Grasshopper Chair

The Womb Chair

Tulip Chair

Some other architectural projects over the years, Eero Saarinen designed the General Motors Technical Center in Michigan, TWA Terminal at JFK Airport in New York and the Dulles International Airport in Washington.

Architectural detail of the interior of the Trans World Airlines Terminal, John F. Kennedy Airport, New York  

Architect Eero Saarinen stands behind a scale model of the Saint Louis Gateway Arch

The newly-completed Saint Louis Gateway Arch 

Design Center interior with stairs in background, part of the General Motors Technical Center, Michigan, 1945

Water Tower detail, General Motors Technical Center, Michigan, 1945

Completed Kresge Auditorium and Chapel on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

Scale model of the David S. Ingalls Hockey Rink, Yale University, Connecticut

A scale model of the Trans World Airlines Terminal, John F. Kennedy, New York

Interior of the TWA Terminal

Model of  Washington Dulles International Airport

Evening view of Washington Dulles International Airport 

Although, Saarinen’s career was really short, he will still remain the one who “Shaped the Future”.

References:

• Design Within Reach, 2014. Eero Saarinen [online] available at: http://www.dwr.com/category/designers/r-t/eero-saarinen.do

• R&Company, N.D. Eero Saarinen [online] available at: http://www.r20thcentury.com/biography_detail.cfm?designer_id=98

• The Atlantic Monthly Group, 2014. The 20th Century Architecture of Eero Saarinen [image online] available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/11/the-20th-century-architecture-of-eero-saarinen/100631/

• CA Design, 2012. Eero Saarinen [online] available at: http://www.cadesign.ie/inspired-by-designers/eero-saarinen/