EERO SAARINEN DESIGNS FREE

Florence and Eero developed a brother-and-sister-like relationship that would last the rest of their lives.

EERO SAARINEN DESIGNS FREE

Florence spent all of her free time with the Saarinen family, including summer vacations to Finland. Saarinen also met Florence Knoll (né Schust) at Cranbrook, who at that time was a promising young protégé of Eliel Saarinen. Their collection was awarded first prize in all categories, catapulting the young designers to the forefront of the American modern furniture movement.Ĭharles Eames and Eero Saarinen with a lightweight tensile structure designed for the 1939 faculty exhibition at the Cranbrook Academy of Art Architecture Studio. The most notable outcome of their partnership was the groundbreaking collection of molded plywood chairs for the MoMA-sponsored 1940 Organic Design in Home Furnishings competition. The two young men, both committed to the exploration of potential new materials and processes, quickly became great friends, pushing each other creatively while collaborating on several projects. It was at Cranbrook that Saarinen met Charles Eames. In 1934, he returned to Michigan to teach at Cranbrook, work on furniture designs, and practice architecture with his father.

In 1929 Eero left for Paris where he studied sculpture before enrolling in the Yale architecture program the following year. It came as no surprise that Eero was helping his father design furniture and fixtures for the Cranbrook campus by the time he was in his teens. Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future, which premiered on the PBS American Masters series.Born to world famous parents, architect and Cranbrook Academy of Art director Eliel Saarinen and textile artist Loja Saarinen, Eero Saarinen was surrounded by design his whole life. In 2016, Eero Saarinen's filmmaker son Eric produced a beautiful, insightful documentary about his famous father's life and work. Today, he is considered one of the masters of 20th Century Architecture In spite of Eero Saarinen's relatively short career (he died unexpectedly at the age of 51), he left behind a legacy of stunningly innovative designs that are studied and revered the world over. Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC.The Miller House in Columbus, Indian (with interiors by Alexander Girard).The TWA Flight Center at New York's Kennedy Airport.He created his most important projects during this period, including: The two developed modern corporate headquarters buildings for General Motors, John Deere, IBM and CBS.Īfter his father's death, Saarinen set up his own architectural firm, called Saarinen and Associates.

Following a multi-year tour of Europe, North Africa and his parents' native Finland, Saarinen returned to the US to teach at Cranbrook and work for his father's architecture firm. This led to a successful, decades-long collaboration that produced the Grasshopper lounge chair, the Womb chair and ottoman, and Tulip tables and chairs – classic designs that are still in production today,Īfter leaving Cranbrook, Saarinen studied at the Yale School of Architecture, graduating in 1934.

The Eames and Saarinen collaborated on innovative furniture designs that won major awards from the Museum of Modern Art and were soon put into production by Knoll. During his time there, he developed friendships with three of his fellow students who would profoundly impact his life and career: the designers Charles and Ray Eames, who would become two of America's most successful modern designers, and Florence Knoll, who would create iconic designs for the furniture company she formed with her husband, Knoll. In the 1930s, the younger Saarinen began taking courses in furniture design and sculpture at Cranbrook. and became the dean of the Cranbrook Academy of Art., in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Saarinen's father was Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, who brought his family to the U.S. Louis, Eero Saarinen left behind an impressive legacy that also includes some of the most iconic furniture designs of the modern movement. Creator of some of the most dazzling architecture of the 20th century, such as the TWA Flight Center in New York and the Gateway Arch in St.

Eero saarinen designs