Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future [Hardcover]

Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen (Editor), Donald Albrecht (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2006

From the swooping concrete vaults of the TWA Terminal at JFK Airport to the 630-foot-tall Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the iconic designs of Eero Saarinen (1910–1961) captured the aspirations and values of mid-20th-century America. Potent expressions of national power, these and other Saarinen-designed structures—including the GM Technical Center, Dulles International Airport, and John Deere headquarters—helped create the international image of the United States in the decades following World War II. 

Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future offers a new and wide-ranging look at the entire scope of Saarinen’s career. This is the first book on Saarinen to incorporate significant research and materials from the newly available archives of his office, and includes the most complete portfolio of Saarinen's projects to date—a chronological survey of more than 100 built and unbuilt works, previously unpublished photographs, plans, and working drawings.

Lavishly illustrated, this major study shows how Saarinen gave his structures an expressive dimension and helped introduce modern architecture to the mainstream of American practice. In his search for a richer and more varied modern architecture, Saarinen became one of the most prolific and controversial practitioners of his time.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Far from a household name, Saarinen's works are nonetheless internationally recognizable icons. His Gateway Arch towers 630 feet above St. Louis, welcoming visitors from across the mighty Mississippi River; the cascading vaults of his TWA terminal at JFK airport greet guests from afar. In many ways, Saarinen's architecture conveys his own experience as an immigrant in the United States; originally from Finland, Saarinen set foot in America in 1923. This elegant compendium provides a lavish array of photographs and sketches of his work, as well as an impressive collection of essays by leading architects and academics. Renowned historian Vincent Scully, for example, addresses Saarinen's role in defining modern architecture in America: by seeing the nation through foreign eyes, he writes, Saarinen understood the responsibility incumbent upon empire. This book demonstrates the many ways Saarinen, and the school of young architects from his office-Pelli, Roche and Venturi, each of them an immigrant or the child of one-hasn't just brought a unique viewpoint to bear on his adopted home, but has changed the way America views itself.
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About the Author

Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen is assistant professor of architecture at Yale University, and the author of Achtung Architecture! Donald Albrecht is an independent curator and Curator of Architecture and Design at the Museum of the City of New York. His books include The Work of Charles and Ray Eames: A Legacy of Invention. Mark Coir is the director of Archives of Cranbrook Educational Community in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Sandy Isenstadt is assistant professor of art history at Yale University. Reinhold Martin is associate professor at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Columbia University. Will Miller is chairman and CEO of Irwin Financial Corporation in Columbus, Indiana. Vincent Scully is Sterling Professor Emeritus of the History of Art at Yale University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (November 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300112823
• ISBN-13: 978-0300112825
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #807,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely catch the exhibit!, March 22, 2007

By 

AACC student (Annapolis, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future (Hardcover)

This book was put together as an accompaniment to a touring exhibit of Eero Saarinen's work. It is one of three books I purchased for an architectural class project on Saarinen and this book is the best of the three, more comprehensive, more personal, and just as if not more informative. I would highly recommend it, it offers tremendous insight into the man as well as the work. The personal interviews and discussions at the end are superb. The editors obviously have a great admiration and affection for Saarinen, and they do an excellent job of making you understand why.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding an architectural genius, August 19, 2009

By 

Michael S. McGill (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future (Hardcover)

This book, and the exhibit that inspired it, go a long way toward explaining the why's and how's of Eero Saarinen's work. On the one hand, he could create what at first glance appear to be purely Miesian International Style designs. On the other, many of his more well known designs seem to anticipate--and perhaps inspire?--the work of architects like Frank Gehry half a century later. By relating his philosophy, his design process, and his willingness to experiment with new construction materials, this book goes a long way toward resolving this anomaly...not ALL the way, but a long way. The data whose release inspired the book and the exhibit are just a treasure trove of information about Saarinen's work. The text of the book is a little uneven, which is not surprising given the large number of authors involved. The inclusion of three lectures by Saarinen is very enlightening, especially the last one which contains perhaps the most extensive statement on his views about architecture. My only frustration is at the very end, with excerpts from the seminar at Yale in 2005 that brought together several of the more illustrious alumni of the Saarinen office. Robert Venturi raises all over again the issue about whether there is a consistent thread to Saarinen's designs, and the responses by his colleagues do not provide a satisfactory answer, unlike the rest of the book.