Eero Saarinen

This video released by the Cranbrook Art Museum documents the first ever retrospective on the renowned architect Eero Saarinen. The short film looks into the life and work of one of the most important designers of the 20th Century, exploring his influence on the corporate working environment, the advent of the modern airport, and his crucial contributions to modern furniture design.

One of the elements that characterise the work of Eero Saarinen, both in architecture and industrial design, is the originality, diverseness and uniqueness of every single creation. At one point in his rising career he was chastened by the scholar and critic,Vincent Scully , for the lack of an identifiable style. Defenders claim that the diverseness of his work is a testament to his skill at adapting his modernist vision for each individual client and project.

From a young age, Saarinen was taught about design by his famous and multi-talented parents, Eliel and Loja Saarinen. Infused into his understanding by them was an idea that is central to progressive thought and the ecology movement. That is: "Each object should be designed in its next largest context - a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan." Nothing exists in isolation. Everything is connected.

Index of Saarinen Architecture.
Yale Digital Image base - Saarinen