Book Description

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portfolio of Saarinen's projects to date--a chronological survey of more than 100 built and unbuilt works, previously unpublished photographs, plans, and working drawings.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 become one of the most prolific and controversial practitioners of his time.Exhibition schedule: Helsinki Kunsthalle, Finland (October 6---December 6, 2006) Centre International pour la Ville, l'Architecture et le Paysage (CIVA), Brussels (Spring 2007) National Building Museum, Washington, D.C. (Winter / Spring 2008) Additional venues to be determined