The Fins get the best names I sometimes think. I saw the Museum of the City of New York’s Saarinen show last weekend (it’s up for one more day). It didn’t totally knock my socks off, but I enjoyed it and learned a thing or two.
I hadn’t realized that the Saarinen family collaborated so much, and that Eero had grown up in the Cranbrook Academy (where his father Eliel taught) milieu. I also did not know that in addition to architecture, he studied sculpture in Paris and at Cranbrook, and the work of his I love best are the buildings that are the most sculptural: St. Louis, JFK, Dulles.
I did of course know he designed some fantastic furniture, among other extra-architectural things (I admire architects who create in multiple media), but it was still a pleasure to see many examples gathered together. I also enjoyed seeing the model of the St. Louis Arch (more properly the Jeffersion National Expansion Memorial), which, if I understood the signage correctly, was an historic model, though it wasn’t clear to me (or maybe I’m not remembering?) if it was from Saarinen’s own office. Coincidentally, I was working on an RFQ about the Arch last week.
The thing I liked best from the show were the details, especially the many elegant curves:
coming soon...
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