Saarinen, Eliel

▪ Finnish architect

born Aug. 20, 1873, Rantasalmi, Fin.

died July 1, 1950, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., U.S.

      architect notable for his influence on modern architecture in the United States, particularly on skyscraper and church design. His son, Eero Saarinen, was also an outstanding American architect.

      He became the foremost architect of his generation in Finland before he moved to the U.S. in 1923. By 1914 he was widely known in Europe for his Helsinki railroad station (1904–14) and urban planning projects for Reval (now Tallinn), Estonia, and Canberra, Australia. In 1922 he won second prize in a competition to build an office tower for the Chicago Tribune. His plan, with its bold approach to massing, had a profound influence on U.S. skyscraper design.

      From 1932 to 1948 Saarinen was president of Cranbrook Academy of Art, at Bloomfield Hills, near Detroit, and thereafter, until his death, head of the graduate department of architecture and city planning. He designed a group of buildings in Bloomfield Hills, including Cranbrook School for Boys (1925–30), Kingswood School for Girls (1929–30), the Institute for Science (1931–33), and the Academy of Art (1926–41). In 1947 he and his son Eero won the American Institute of Architects' highest award for their design for an addition to the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Notable are his two churches: First Christian Church, in Columbus, Ind. (1940–42), and Christ Lutheran Church, in Minneapolis, Minn. (1949–50)—his last and considered by some his finest building. Saarinen's writings include The City, Its Growth, Its Decay, Its Future (1943) and Search for Form (1948).

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