![]() It’s fitting the story was titled “Now Saarinen the Son.” Eero Saarinen and Alan Tunstall at the office in Bloomfield Hills. ![]() In many ways, his influence would loom large after his son took the reins.Īccording to a famous New York Times profile of Eero by Aline Louchheim-which not only built the architect’s public profile but precipitated Saarinen’s divorce and eventual marriage to the journalist-the company’s stark, workmanlike office contained a portrait of his father, with his hands folded complacently. The elder Saarinen, then a living legend who had designed the Cranbrook Campus, a breeding ground for modernist design, would lead the firm until his death in 1950. Roche also remembers seeing Eliel, Eero’s father, then 82, and wondering what the old man was doing around the office. ![]() That would soon change as the company dug into the mammoth GM Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, a now-landmarked corporate campus that would take nearly a decade of work to complete, and began expanding with a growing roster of corporate clients. When Roche first arrived at the Saarinen office in 1950, it was a small firm, with just 10 employees. While he would have the final word during those discussions, the dialogues he started still resonate today. Saarinen would use models as a conversation focus in his office, according to design historian Donald Albrecht. While not all would share similar styles-or even agree with Saarinen’s philosophy or approach-many said his view on communities (and use of models and relentless pursuit of new ideas) was an inspiration. Balthazar Korab/Library of CongressĪt a time when Saarinen’s large-scale work for corporate clients-including headquarters for GM and John Deere-helped create the “Industrial Versailles” model of corporate campuses, his organic forms becoming a modernist cornerstone, he was also influencing careers that would continue to shape the architectural discourse for decades to come. Staff photo behind the Saarinen and Associates office in 1953. Even famous architectural photographer Balthazar Korab spent time at the office. What many may not know is how many other famous names passed through the suburban Detroit office.Īlong with Kevin Roche, who would help take over the firm after Saarinen’s passing, an extensive list of important-and, in a reflection of the era’s lack of diversity, white and male-architects passed through the office, including John Dinkeloo, Gunnar Birkerts, Robert Venturi, Ralph Rapson, and Cesar Pelli. Louis Arch.ĭuring the firm’s short lifespan, from 1950, when Eero took over from his talented father and fellow architect, Eliel, to 1961, when Eero unexpectedly and tragically died during an operation, its work established Saarinen as a legend. Eero Saarinen and Associates of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, would go on to design some of the most iconic buildings of postwar American architecture, including the TWA Terminal and St. Roche had the luck to not only ace the interview, but become a designer, architect, and eventually key associate at one of the more exciting architecture offices of the 20th century. As Roche told Dwell, he eventually woke up with a start as Saarinen said “well, come out to Michigan.” Roche would then borrow some cash, buy an overnight train ticket, and begin working for Saarinen the next day. Saarinen evidently didn’t notice, continuing his discussion about architecture and design. Saarinen, who was just getting up, began talking in his slow, deliberate voice at Roche, who had been up all night with his cousin and slowly drifted off into sleep. meeting in his room at the Plaza Hotel to talk about a potential job. The young architect, having spent the last week drinking and partying in New York City, had been summoned by the famous Finnish-American designer for an 8 a.m. Kevin Roche remembers his initial interview with Eero Saarinen in 1950.
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