26 Facts About Eero Saarinen

Eero Saarinen was the son of Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen.

Eero Saarinen was born in Hvittrask, Finland on August 20,1910, to Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen and his second wife, Louise, on his father's 37th birthday.

Eero Saarinen grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where his father taught and was dean of the Cranbrook Academy of Art, and he took courses in sculpture and furniture design there.

Eero Saarinen had a close relationship with fellow students, designers Charles and Ray Eames, and became good friends with architect Florence Knoll.

Eero Saarinen began studies in sculpture at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris, France, in September 1929.

Eero Saarinen then went on to study at the Yale School of Architecture, completing his studies in 1934.

Eero Saarinen subsequently toured Europe and North Africa for two years, as well as working for a time in Helsinki in the office of architect Jarl Eklund, where he supervised the remodeling of the Swedish Theatre.

The Tulip chair, like all other Eero Saarinen chairs, was taken into production by the Knoll furniture company, founded by Hans Knoll, who married Eero Saarinen family friend Florence Knoll.

The GM Technical Center was constructed in 1956, with Eero Saarinen using models, which allowed him to share his ideas with others and gather input from other professionals.

Eero Saarinen was the principal partner from 1950 until his death.

In 1949 and 1950, Eero Saarinen was hired by the then-new Brandeis University to create a master plan for the campus.

Eero Saarinen did build a few residential structures on the campus, including Ridgewood Quadrangle, Sherman Student Center and Shapiro Dormitory at Hamilton Quadrangle.

Eero Saarinen designed the Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, New York, together with his father, Eliel Eero Saarinen.

Eero Saarinen designed the former Embassy of the United States in London, which opened in 1960, and the former Embassy of the United States in Oslo.

Eero Saarinen worked with his father, mother, and sister designing elements of the Cranbrook campus in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, including the Cranbrook School, Kingswood School, the Cranbrook Art Academy, and the Cranbrook Science Institute.

Eero Saarinen was recruited by Donal McLaughlin, an architectural school friend from his Yale days, to join the military service in the Office of Strategic Services.

Eero Saarinen was assigned to draw illustrations for bomb disassembly manuals and to provide designs for the Situation Room in the White House.

Eero Saarinen was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1952.

Eero Saarinen was elected a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1954.

Eero Saarinen received the First Honor award of the American Institute of Architects twice, in 1955 and 1956, and their gold medal in 1962.

Eero Saarinen became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1940.

That same year, Eero Saarinen married Aline Bernstein Louchheim, an art critic at The New York Times.

Eero Saarinen met Louchheim when she came to Detroit to interview him for his contributions to the recently completed General Motors Technical Center.

Eero Saarinen died on September 1,1961, at the age of 51 while undergoing an operation in Ann Arbor, Michigan for a brain tumor.

An exhibition of Saarinen's work, Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future, was organized by the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York in collaboration with Yale School of Architecture, the National Building Museum, and the Museum of Finnish Architecture.

The exhibition was accompanied by the book Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future.