The Saarinens: A Designing Family

Eliel Saarinen is a Detroit architect who changed the face of cities and towns from Detroit to Novosibirsk. Saarinen House at Cranbrook exemplifies Saarinen’s belief that an architect’s mission is total design, from the building and its setting down to the spoon on the table and every other detail. He believed in including his talented family in the design project also. This presentation focuses on Eliel Saarinen’s buildings at Cranbrook, but begins with his work in his native Finland and branches out to include designs by Loja, Pipa, and Eero Saarinen.