Installation shot

Eero Saarinen had architecture in his blood. He collaborated with his father, a famous architect in his own right, in the 1930s and 1940s and that helped Eero develop a name for himself. Not only was he one of the most celebrated architects of his time but he had his share of controversy as well. Rising to prominence after WWII he is most famous for the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the TWA terminal at JFK in New York. Most of the work he created was for the Midwest, but he did have some major projects in NY such as a pavilion he designed for the 1939/40 New York World’s Fair, CBS’s corporate headquarters in midtown, a theater in Lincoln Center, and furniture that he designed which was included in a competition at MoMA. Through various periodicals such as Vogue and The New York Times, he attained celebrity status. He died at age 51 in 1961 but left behind a tremendous body of work that “represented the ascendance of American culture and optimism after WWII.”

model of CBS building, midtown Manhattn

He was a world traveler studying sculpture in Paris at 19 and traveling to Europe, Egypt, and Mexico to study the great monuments of architectural history. He earned his BFA fro Yale in three short years and served in the military during World War II. From 1960-65 he worked on the CBS building, the first reinforced-concrete skyscraper in NY at that time. One of his most famous ideas was that of a “corporate campus.” The idea that a business could be set up much like a country estate or a college campus helped with his belief that an architect had an ability to create a company’s image–help develop their branding. One example of one of these “compounds” can be found in Warren, Michigan at the General Motors Technical Center built from 1948-1956. Another was the Time, Inc. office designed for Rye, NY but never built. It was essentially a skyscraper laid on its side and spread out into the surrounding environs.

chairs designed by Eero Saarinen

An example of the breadth of scope of buildings he worked on was the design of the Cow Island School in Winnetka, Illinois. The school, based on the ideas of the educational philosopher John Dewey, had 12 classrooms, each functioning as its own independent one-room schoolhouse. In his teens Saarinen designed furniture for Cranbrook Academy, but it was not until 1940 when he and Charles Eames won prizes in MoMA’s competition for home furnishings design that his work became known. His “womb chair” is an icon of postwar design as is the “pedestal series” he created with Knoll in 1954. His Bloomfield Hills office was abuzz with activity 24/7 and there is a great deal to show for all of his efforts.

Unfortunately this show has ended, however, I do encourage you to go the often-neglected but never disappointing Museum of the City of New York. It’s on Fifth Avenue at 105th (not that far away).