Happy Birthday to the Saarinens! Design Words of Wisdom to Celebrate

Eero and Eliel Saarinen share a birthday and the design world's admiration. Let's consider some of their insight in honor of the day

August 19, 2013
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected." I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More
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Father and son architects Eliel and Eero Saarinen would have been 140 and 103, respectively, today (August 20). In honor of the iconic Saarinens' many accomplishments and contributions to modern architecture, city planning, design education, furniture and life, let's ponder a few of their words of wisdom that still stand true today.
Modern Exterior First Christian Church, Columbus, Indiana by Eliel Saarinen
In the 1922 Chicago Tribune Tower competition, Eliel Saarinen's soaring, stepped-back art deco entry gained him a lot of attention and went on to become a major architectural influence. Many believe he was robbed, for he came in second place. The next year he emigrated from Finland to the United States with wife Loja and son Eero, who was 13 at the time. The elder Saarinen went on to design the Cranbrook Educational Community, where he served as chief architect and taught, and took on the post of its president in 1932.

In 1942 Saarinen designed the first international-style building in Columbus, Indiana, which is now known for its vast collection of modern buildings by a stable of iconic architects, including his son. The First Christian Church, then known as the Tabernacle Church of Christ, was also one of the first modern churches built in the States. The simple, linear modern style caught much attention and marked the beginning of a movement from ornate Gothic to modern designs for churches. The building takes up a block and is now a National Historic Landmark.

"If a building is honest, the architecture is religious." — Eliel Saarinen
Modern Books by Amazon
Amazon
The City: Its Growth, Its Decay, Its Future, by Eliel Saarinen - $12.49
The elder Saarinen always saw the big picture, as well as the medium-size picture and the vignette.

"Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger context — a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan." — Eliel Saarinen
Modern Kitchen by Ken Gutmaker Architectural Photography
Ken Gutmaker Architectural Photography
Eero Saarinen's popular and often-copied tulip-shaped chairs and tables have seats and tops perched atop stems, Saarinen's reaction to clutter. The iconic Pedestal Collection was introduced by Knoll in 1958.

"The undercarriage of chairs and tables in a typical interior makes an ugly, confusing unrestful world. I wanted to clear up the slum of legs. I wanted to make the chair all one thing again." — Eero Saarinen
Contemporary Landscape by The Cultural Landscape Foundation
The Cultural Landscape Foundation
Perhaps these words of Saarinen's were never more true than about The Miller House (commissioned in 1953), with its modern open plan, dynamic Alexander Girard textiles and stunning modern gardens designed by landscape architect Dan Kiley.

"The purpose of architecture is to shelter and enhance man’s life on earth and to fulfill his belief in the nobility of his existence." — Eero Saarinen
Modern by The Cultural Landscape Foundation
The Cultural Landscape Foundation
With his boldest statement, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, one large gesture drawn just right became an instant icon.

"To me the drawn language is a very revealing language: one can see in a few lines whether a man is really an architect." — Eero Saarinen
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motownmom
We were just at the Arch in St Louis on vacation. I read with interest the things they had designed, in my own Michigan backyard! Cranbrook is mentioned above. They actually lived in the area. Also designed the GM Tech Center in Warren Mi,
   
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maracamp
The Saarinen's architecture is an important part of the beauty that is Columbus Indiana. The buildings have stood the test of time. Please come to Columbus Indiana and take the architectural tour. It will be well worth your time.
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Marcel Leal-Valias
The Gateway Arch in St. Louis was in my Bucket List for over 50 years, and "voila" at age of 67 I fulfilled my dream and laid down under that marvel of architecture piece and could not hold my tears. Tears of happiness and excitement because, as murmured to myself "my life is now complete!" For many months when I was still back in my home country of Brazil, I used to dream about this phenomenal arch and there I was under it with all it's splendour. To close, may I say that at the age of 73 and having travelled extensively around the world, I have NEVER seen an art piece as great as that.
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