Archinect - News

Restoration of Saarinen-designed First Christian Church tower completed in Columbus, Indiana

2024-02-23T08:03:00-05:00

The Landmark Columbus Foundation has shared photos of Louis Joyner Architect's completed tower restoration of the landmark First Christian Church in Columbus, Indiana, designed by Eero Saarinen and his father, Eliel, in 1942.

The project took eight months to complete, wrapping up this past December.

The church’s 166-foot-high freestanding clock tower served as the main focus of the restoration work, which took place in four main parts, with repairs also needed to account for significant masonry cracking, rust, and water damage to its interior.

Photo: Hadley Fruits for Landmark Columbus Foundation

Contractors stabilized the 50 uppermost feet of the tower by first removing its east and west walls and then taking the brick veneer off its north and south edifices, removing parapets, and then installing a new concrete block support onto the 166-foot-tall structure.

Photo: Hadley Fruits for Landmark Columbus Foundation

The brick veneer was later re-installed in addition to locally quarr...

The grandson of Eliel Saarinen is working on new documentary highlighting pioneering Finnish-American architect

2020-07-31T13:42:00-04:00

Eric Saarinen, the son of Eero Saarinen, is working on a new documentary highlighting the work of his grandfather, noted Finnish-American architect Eliel Saarinen.

The Detroit News reports that the documentary comes after Eric's work on a previous PBS special highlighting the legacy of his father, with whom he had an estranged and antagonistic relationship.

Eric tells The Detroit News that his work on the Eero 2016 documentary Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future with director and producer Peter Rosen helped him come to terms and ultimately forgive his father for abandoning the family in the 1950s after having an affair with a reporter for The New York Times.

The documentary highlighting the career and works of the elder Saarinen is currently under development, a release date has not been announced.

The New York Times travels to Eero Saarinen's Michigan (and follows up with an unfortunately ignorant tweet)

2017-10-09T19:09:00-04:00

While Saarinen’s groundbreaking works gave him international prominence, many people don’t realize that his earliest architectural and design laboratory was in Michigan.

John L. Dorman, for the travel section of the New York Times explored Michigan's modern architecture, and more specifically, buildings by modern architect Eliel Saarinen and his son Eero. He reports visiting the Saarinen's house designed by Eliel and the first buildings realized by Eero, such as his office, the University of Michigan School of Music, Dance and Theatre, and the General Motors Technical Center. The article describes the genesis of Eliel's career in Michigan before becoming famous internationally.

The New York Times shared the article with a tweet insinuating that midwest architecture wasn't renown, generating many angry responses.

The designer that Columbus, a film featuring numerous Modernist icons, forgot about

2017-08-25T16:11:00-04:00

The Miller House and Garden, now owned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art, is acknowledged as one of the greatest Modernist collaborations. This thirteen-acre property was developed between 1953 and 1957 as a unified design through the close teamwork of Kiley, architects Eero Saarinen and Kevin Roche, interior designer Alexander Girard (who is acknowledged in the film), and clients J. Irwin and Xenia Miller.

The recent film Columbus is centered around a love story of a son of a renowned architecture critic stuck in a small Midwestern town and a 'young architecture enthusiast' who works at the local library. Taking place in mid-century Modernism mecca, Columbus, IN, the motion picture spares plenty of spectacular views of iconic Modernist sites: the Miller House, North Christian Church (1964), Cummins Inc. Irwin Office Building (1954), First Christian Church (1942), and Columbus Regional Hospital Mental Health Center (1972). The characters, surprisingly, do not fail to acknowledge the architects at each location—there are mentions of Eero and Eliel Saarinen, James Polshek... However, Dan Kiley, whose landscapes are often the movie's pivotal settings, got left out and never once credited.

Kiley designed more projects in Columbus than any architect—over thirty landscapes which among many others include the Art Institute of Chicago, South Garden (1962), Jefferson National Expansion Expansio...

Eero Saarinen documentary to air on PBS Dec. 27th

2016-12-01T13:27:00-05:00

For those who are interested in seeing Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future (reviewed her e on Archinect), they'll have their chance on December 27th when PBS airs the documentary as part of its American Masters Series. The film, which charts both Eero's professional and personal stories, will officially be released on DVD on January 3rd, 2017 from PBS distribution. In the meantime, here's a clip from the film where Eliel Saarinen finds out it is not him but his son Eero who has won the competition for St. Louis memorial design:

Cranbrook Art Museum Reopens

2011-11-11T11:50:14-05:00

As the collection grew over the years, gallery space was lost to storage. Moreover, the building, designed by Eliel Saarinen, hadn’t been updated since it opened, in 1942, leaving it “no longer adequate to create a proper conservation or display environment,” said Reed Kroloff, the academy’s director.