Eero Saarinen

Eero Saarinen (August 20, 1910, in Kirkkonummi, Finland – September 1, 1961, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States) was a Finnish-American architect and product designer of the 20th century famous for his simple, sweeping, arching structural curves.

Biography

Eero was the son of architect Eliel Saarinen, and studied with his father at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where he had a close relationship with Charles and Ray Eames. He received a B.Arch. from Yale University in 1934, and in 1940, he became a naturalized citizen.

Related Topics:
Eliel Saarinen - Cranbrook Academy of Art - Yale University - 1940 - Naturalized citizen

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Saarinen came to attention for his 1948 competition-winning design for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, not completed until the 1960s. (The competition award was mistakenly sent to his father.) For the General Motors Technical Center, the Noyes dormitory at Vassar, the famous 'expressionist' concrete shell of the TWA Terminal, and other important commissions, he designed all the interiors and furniture in a curving, theatrical, futuristic style. He served on the jury for the Sydney Opera House commission and is thought to have been influential in the selection of the internationally-known design by Jørn Utzon.

Related Topics:
Sydney Opera House - Jørn Utzon

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Saarinen died of a brain tumor at the age of 51. The firm of Roche-Dinkeloo, with partners Kevin Roche and John Dinkeloo, completed some of Saarinen's unfinished projects. Neglected and sometimes mocked during his lifetime by the architectural establishment, he is now considered one of the masters of American 20th Century architecture.

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