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Revisiting the Work of Eero Saarinen
By Paul Makovsky
June 2003
Eero Saarinen (1910-1961), one of the great architects of the twentieth
century, never received the credit he is due. Throughout his lifetime, he
was criticized by many of his contemporaries. Frank Lloyd Wright, for example,
commented on the architect's eclecticism, telling Saarinen's second wife,
Aline Saarinen, in 1958 to "tell your young architect that I hope he
will do something someday that I like."
It's strange considering that Saarinen's studio was an innovative
research laboratory, attracting talented architects such as Cesar Pelli,
Anthony Lumsden, Kevin Roche, Niels Diffrient, and Bob Venturi. The
photographer Balthazar Korab, who also worked in the studio from 1955 to
1958 as a young architect, photographed architectural projects in
progress as a way of researching the building process.
It was the influence of Saarinen's father, Eliel, who taught his son to
see something in relation to a larger whole-a chair in a room, a room in
a building, a building in a city. Saarinen explained this once: "In
any design problem one should seek the solution in terms of the next largest
thing. If the problem is an ashtray, then the way it relates to the table
will influence its design. If the problem is a chair, then its solution
must be found in the way it relates to the room cube. If it is a building,
the townscape will affect the solution."
Sadly, at the time of his premature death in 1961, the architect did not
get to see some of his most famous buildings in use. Roche and Dinkeloo,
associates in the firm, completed the ten major projects underway,
including the TWA terminal at JFK International Airport in New York; the
Jefferson National Memorial in St. Louis-better known as the Gateway
Arch; Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., Deere and
Co. headquarters in Moline, Illinois; and the CBS headquarters in New
York.
Now, a younger generation of architects and writers are revisiting the architect's
work. Jayne Merkel is currently writing a monograph on the work of Saarinen
(Phaidon, Fall 2004). Antonio Roman's illustrated monograph, Eero Saarinen:
An Architecture of Multiplicity (Princeton Architectural Press) is a
good introduction to Saarinen's work.
Based on his dissertation, the author divides the architect's work into
several "actions": creating, dwelling, building, socializing,
and judging--arguing that the architect's work can be seen through the lens
of multiplicity.
He writes: "In contrast to other architects at the time, so intent
on developing one single aspect of design, Eero Saarinen 'wanted to embrace
the entire body' when designing, something that in turn might lead to inquiry
and indecision."
Though beautifully designed, the book is illustrated using only black and
white photographs, a unifying visual element for its overall design perhaps,
but it would
have been useful to see some of the interiors in color as a way of better
understanding the architect's work.
Reinhold Martin's forthcoming book, The Organizational Complex,
(MIT Press, September 2003), analyzes corporate architecture in the
United States after the Second World War, and devotes a significant part
of his argument to looking at Saarinen's work. Instead of a formalistic
analysis of some of Saarinen's built architecture, Martin connects
projects, like Saarinen's work for General Motors, IBM, and Bell
Laboratories, to a systems-based model of organization in architecture,
in which the modular structure acts as both an organizational device and
a reflection of the corporate brand of these companies.
Of course, one of the best ways to understand Saarinen's work is to actually
visit his buildings. One of Saarinen's early masterpieces, the General Motors
Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, is opening its doors to the public
for one day--on June 22, 2003, the public will have a rare opportunity to
visit the campus and see the Saarinen's architecture up close (10 a.m.-4:30
p.m.; tickets: $15/ $12 in advance;
www.acteva.com/go/eyeson).
In conjunction with The Eyes on Design Auto Exhibition, GM is organizing
an exhibition of more than 300 concept cars from the past 75 years, including
cars from the 1920s to the latest corporate concept vehicle. You will
be able to visit an actual design studio at the GM Design Center, a space
that is usually off limits to the public.
The Eyes on Design is a benefit for the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology,
a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the research, education and support
programs that enhance the independence of the visually impaired. For more
information, visit www.eyeson.org.
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