On this day, August 20, Finnish architects Eliel Saarinen (1873) and Eero Saarinen (1910) were born.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Eliel Saarinen

Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (/ˈsɑːrɪnən/, Finnish: [ˈelie̯l ˈsɑːrinen]; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish-American architect known for his work with art nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Eero Saarinen.

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Move to the United States

Eliel Saarinen moved to the United States in 1923 after his competition entry for the Tribune Tower in Chicago, Illinois, won second place and so was not built; the most faithful realization of it is the 1929 Gulf Building in Houston. Saarinen first settled in Evanston, Illinois, where he worked on his scheme for the development of the Chicago lake front. In 1924 he became a visiting professor at the University of Michigan.

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Significant works

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Helsinki Central railway station



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Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, New York



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First Christian Church, Columbus, Indiana



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Eero Saarinen

Eero Saarinen (/ˈeɪroʊ ˈsɑːrɪnən, ˈɛəroʊ -/, Finnish: [ˈeːro ˈsɑːrinen]; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the Washington Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., the TWA Flight Center in New York City, and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the son of noted Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen.

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Architectural career

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After his father's death in July 1950, Saarinen founded his own architect's office, Eero Saarinen and Associates. He was the principal partner from 1950 until his death. The firm carried out many of its most important works, including the Bell Labs Holmdel Complex in Holmdel Township, New Jersey; Gateway Arch National Park (including the Gateway Arch) in St. Louis, Missouri; the Miller House in Columbus, Indiana; the TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport, which he worked on with Charles J. Parise; the main terminal of Washington Dulles International Airport; and the new East Air Terminal of the old Athens airport in Greece, which opened in 1967. Many of these projects use catenary curves in their structural designs.

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[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Dulles International Airport 1958-1962

280AR Eero Saarinen & Associates Dulles International Airport 1958–1962

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2. TWA Flight Center 1955-1962

187AR Eero Saarinen & Associates TWA Flight Center 1955–1962

[Klaralven]

3. According to a building maintenance manager responsible for an Eero Saarinen building --

The greater the architect, the worse the roof leaks.

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4. Are you sure he wasn't talking about Frank Lloyd Wright? NT

[Klaralven]

5. The start of the conversation was a specific Saarinen building

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6. Fallingwater is, I have heard, a maintenance nightmare.

{edit: it's Fallingwater, not Falling Waters}

Yeah, it looks great, but ...

Thanks for writing.

[Klaralven]

7. I tell my kids -- buy a house with a simple, well-pitched roof -- do they listen?

Of course not. Two now have houses with "architecturally interesting" roofs.

[hunter]

9. I think that was said by Og...

... when people were first moving from caves to communal buildings with thatched roofs.

[Celerity]

8. love the Tulip Chair and Armchair by Eero Saarinen