- Eliel Saarinen
Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (
August 20 ,1873 ,Rantasalmi ,Finland –July 1 ,1950 ,Bloomfield Hills, Michigan ,United States ) was a Finnish architect who became famous for hisart nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century.Saarinen was educated in Helsinki at the
Helsinki University of Technology . From 1896 to 1905 he worked as a partner withHerman Gesellius andArmas Lindgren at the firmGesellius, Lindgren, and Saarinen . His first major work with the firm, the Finnish pavilion at theWorld Fair of 1900, exhibited an extraordinary convergence of stylistic influences: Finnish wooden architecture, the BritishGothic Revival , and theJugendstil . Saarinen's early manner was later christened the Finnish National Romanticism and culminated in theHelsinki Central railway station (designed 1904, constructed 1910-14). From 1910–15 he worked on the extensive city-planning project of Munksnäs-Haga and later published a book on the subject. In January 1911 he became a consultant in city planning forReval ,Estonia and was invited toBudapest to advise in city development. In 1912, a brochure written by Saarinen about the planning problems ofBudapest was published. In April 1913 he received the first place award in an international competition for his plan ofReval . During 1917-18 Saarinen worked on the city-plan for greaterHelsinki . He also designed theFinnish markka banknotes introduced in 1922.On
March 6 ,1904 Saarinen married Louise (Loja) Gesellius, a sculptor inHelsinki , and the younger sister ofHerman Gesellius . They had a daughter Eva-Lisa (Pipsan) onMarch 31 ,1905 and a son Eero onAugust 20 ,1910 .Eliel Saarinen moved to theUnited States in 1923 after his noted competition entry for theTribune Tower inChicago, Illinois . Although Saarinen's entry won second place and was not built in Chicago, his design was fully realized in the 1929 Gulf Building inHouston, Texas . Saarinen first settled in Evanston, Illinois, where he worked on his scheme for the development of theChicago lake front. In 1924 he became a visiting professor at theUniversity of Michigan .In 1925
George Gough Booth asked him to design the campus ofCranbrook Educational Community , intended as an American equivalent to theBauhaus . Saarinen taught there and became president of theCranbrook Academy of Art in 1932. Among his student-collaborators wereRay Eames (then Ray Kaiser) andCharles Eames ; Saarinen influenced their subsequent furniture design.He became a professor in the
University of Michigan 's Architecture Department; today a professorship at Michigan's A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning is named for him, and the College holds an annual lecture series in his honor.His son, Eero (1910–1961), became one of the most important American architects of the mid-20th century, as one of the leaders of the International style. Saarinen's student
Edmund N. Bacon achieved national prominence as Executive Director of thePhiladelphia City Planning Commission from 1949 to 1970.Buildings
* Finnish Pavilion at the
Exposition Universelle (1900) ,Paris
*Hvitträsk , Eliel Saarinen's home inKirkkonummi 1902
* Clubhouse of Luther factory,Tallinn ,Estonia 1905
*Helsinki Central railway station 1905–1914
*National Museum of Finland inHelsinki 1902–1904
* [http://www3.lahti.fi/doc/kaupungintalo Lahti Town Hall] ,Lahti ,Finland 1911
* Mutual Reserve Association Building,Tallinn ,Estonia 1912
*Vyborg railway station (today inRussia ) 1904–1913 "(destroyed 1941)"
* [http://www.teelistekirikud.ekn.ee/kirikone.asp?one=134&maakone=37&?=0001 Saint Paul's Church] ,Tartu ,Estonia 1917
* First Christian Church, Columbus,Indiana 1942
*Kleinhans Music Hall ,Buffalo, New York ; designed in collaboration with his sonEero Saarinen
* Original Wing ofDes Moines Art Center ,Des Moines, Iowa 1945–1948
*Cranbrook Educational Community , Bloomfield Hills,Michigan
*Christ Church Lutheran ,Minneapolis ,Minnesota 1949
* [http://www.fentoncommunitycenter.org/index2.asp The Fenton Community Center] ,Fenton, Michigan References and further reading
*A&E with Richard Guy Wilson, Ph.D.,(2000). America's Castles: Newspaper Moguls, Pittock Mansion, Cranbrook House & Gardens, The American Swedish Institute. "A&E Television Network".
*Cite book | author=Hill, Eric J. and John Gallagher | title= AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture| year=2002 | publisher= Wayne State University Press | id=ISBN 0-8143-3120-3
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