Eero Saarinen. What did you think when you heard that? You probably thought,
"Who is that? I have never heard of him." That is not surprising, because he
accomplished many things he is not well known for, unless you do crossword puzzles--
which are filled with unusual information. If you do know who he is, however, it is
probably because of his architecture or his curious furniture. After a very brief overview
of Eero's life the focus will be on his work involving Dulles International Airport.
Eero Saarinen was born on August 20, 1910, in Kirkkonummi, Finland, to Eliel
and Loja Gesellius Saarinen. He and his family moved to the United States and became
naturalized citizens in 1923. His father, who was an architect as well, settled near
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, because there was a lot of architectural work needed in that
area. Eero Saarinen married Lillian Swann in 1939 and had two children, Eric (1942)
and Susan (1945). Eero and Lillian were divorced however, and he eventually married
Aline Louchheim and they had a boy named Eames (1954). Saarinen worked on many
great architectural designs and won many awards, among these buildings were Dulles
International Airport, the Master Plan for the University of Michigan, Drake University,
General Motors Technical Center, and Vassar College to name a few. Eero died
September 1, 1961, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, after having brain surgery on a tumor
The airport was originally in Chantilly, Virginia, and was originally called
Washington International Airport but was later named after John Foster Dulles. The
building is 600 feet long and has huge columns that stretch up 65 feet to reach the large
awning that canopies the large terminal. This was the first airport to be built in which the
traveler's convenience was considered in every line drawn on the blueprint (Temko
Dulles International Airport was construc
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