ANCIENT& not so ancient WISDOM
offering a weekly positive perspective

January 20, 2005

"Always design a thing by considering it in its next-larger context -- a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan."

- Eliel Gottlieb Saarinen (1873-1950)

Eliel Saarinen was born in Rantasalmi, Finland. His father was Juho Saarinen. He studied painting and architecture at Helsinki University and received his architect's diploma in 1897. He established an architecture practice with classmates Herman Gesellius and Armas Lindgren. They were commissioned for the Finnish pavilion for the 1900 World's Fair in Paris and the Finnish National Museum in Helsinki (1902-1911). They also designed the Helsinki train station (1904-1919) and Vyborg train station (1904-1913). As part of each project, Saarinen would design furniture and rugs.

Saarinen married Loja Gesellius, the sister of his partner, in 1904 and they had a daughter, Pipsan, in 1905.

In 1908 he designed the “Hannes” chair, named  after his brother,  with a decorative mahogany inlay, and the 1910 "White" armchair, designed for his wife. In 1922, Saarinen received a money for his second  place entry to design the Chicago Tribune Tower. He moved his family to the United States in 1923.

In 1925, Saarinen was asked by George G. Booth to develop the Cranbrook Educational Center at Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Saarinen began living and teaching at the Cranbrook Academy of Art and in 1932 he became president of the Cranbrook Academy. Saarinen taught the importance of approaching work with the idea in mind that, "if the form is there, it is of minor importance if we use the hand of man or machine. Both are necessary."   Students at the school included  Charles and Ray Eames, Harry Bertoia, Florence Schust (Knoll) and Saarinen's son Eero, all of whom had a grand impact on design in this country.

His philosophy of considering the next-larger context is good advice for sales, negotiations, and working with others.

Sincerely,