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Eliel and Eero Saarinen, Finnish father and son architects, are recognized most often for their major public works — Eliel for his 1919 Art Nouveau-inspired Helsinki Central Station and Eero, arguably, for his TWA Terminal at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. Saarinen Houses, a book by co-authors Jari Jetsonen and Sirkkaliisa Jetsonen, sets out to place attention on the residential masterpieces of these 20th-century modernists.
Eliel Saarinen’s five-decade legacy is examined by showing his home designs in Finland and the US, and the later residences designed in collaboration with his son. The book also highlights several projects crafted by Eero after his father’s death. Built for family, friends, and valued clients, each house is a gesamtkunstwerk, a comprehensive work that showcases the duo’s proficiency in numerous disciplines. Such an approach expresses the Saarinens’ shared belief that “a house belongs to its landscape and that its furnishings and details are part of the building,” the authors write.
The book presents a thorough history of 17 residential designs. Of these, Architizer has highlighted the seven Saarinen-designed homes that best reveal the stunning breadth of the family’s talent.
Hvittorp, Kirkkonummi, Finland, 1901-02
Set on the bank of Lake Vitträsk, Eliel uses the change in elevation to shape the construction of this two-facade house. The authors describe the lakeside face as a “castle of natural stone.” Towards the surrounding forest, it is a wooden structure with a peaked roof. Its complex exterior is a series of terraces and bays, and a formal garden defines Hvittorp as a villa.
Vilho Sjöström Studio, Helsinki, Finland, 1909-10
This large villa is sited on Kulosaari Island, a community away from the city of Helsinki that promised a natural setting and spacious living. Designed for a painter, the building has whitewashed walls and views of nature meant to provide inspiration. The two-story structure is entered through a square tower, guarded by a sphinx made by the homeowner.
Saarinen House, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, 1928-30
Eliel took great pains to design the entirety of his residence on the Cranbrook Academy of Art campus, meaning that he oversaw the horticultural design in addition to the structure itself. His wife, Loja, made the textiles and Art Deco fireplace. Reading nooks with natural light have prominence in the design, as does a stepped garden, visible from multipane windows along the house’s back wall. Its rectangular plan comprises a series of asymmetrical spaces.
Koebel House, Grosse Point Farms, Michigan, 1937 (Eliel and Eero Saarinen design), 1939-40 (completed by J. Robert F. Swanson)
Rejecting the historical precedent of its suburban neighborhood, this modern family home was constructed as a variation of Saarinen House. Pipsan Saarinen Swanson, daughter of Eliel and married to architect J. Robert F. Swanson, designed the interior; the open central space is modular, comfortable for a variety of activities, and defined by the placement of furniture, selected by Pipsan. Curving interior walls provide gentle definition of some rooms, and the brick exterior is brought inside with a sweeping one-story wing where a winter garden is located.
A.C. Wermuth House, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1941-42
This collaboration between father and son resulted in a modern design that had built-in elements (among them, a sofa) that Eliel favored. The house has two wings of differing facades; the section with public spaces is made from local limestone and the area with the bedrooms are faced with wooden cladding painted white. Also in limestone, a tall chimney with rounded edges breaks the design’s overall horizontality.
Loja Saarinen House, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, 1950-51
After Eliel’s death in 1950, his son Eero designed this home for his widowed mother. The residence has three parts: an area with bedrooms, a kitchen, and a spacious living room with a glass wall to the garden. The structure represents Eero’s longstanding interest in architecture’s dialogue with landscape. In this project, that dialogue is modified for the constraints of a suburban setting.
Miller House, Columbus, Indiana, 1953-57
Working closely with his firm’s lead architect, Kevin Roche, Eero conceived of this private residence for J. Irwin Miller, an industrialist, and his family. Alexander Girard also contributed to the project and oversaw the interior design, from furniture to fabrics. The result of this collaboration is a rectangular structure with a central, open-plan living and dining room surrounded by four enclosed private spaces arrayed in a pinwheel. Gardens ring the residence and are showcased within the interior thanks to floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
All images from Saarinen Houses, published by Princeton Architectural Press
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