TWA Terminal by Eero Saarinen, More Than Architecture

From MidCentArc via Flickr

This morning, thanks to Jason Whiton of Spy Vibe, I was reminded of how incredibly beautiful the TWA Terminal by Eero Saarinen* really is. While the terminal has been renowned for decades as a masterpiece of architecture, for Mid-Century Modern enthusiast and others alike, I gained a new perspective of it today.

I've heard and read many times that the terminal was sculpted, and of it being a true work of art. True, all architecture is art, but in comparison to the TWA terminal, most other architecture is just stacked materials. While I had always appreciated the form and flow (that jet age look) of the TWA terminal, it wasn't until my recent post on "Knoll Furniture" that I found the first key that changed how I saw the TWA terminal.

In the "Knoll Furniture"post there is an interesting video about Eero Saarinen's furniture* and design*. In this video, Brian Lutz (author of Knoll Furniture*) states that Florence Knoll told him, speaking about Eero Saarinen:"before anything else, he's [Eero Saarinen] is a sculptor". Truly, that is evident in much of his work, but I think the TWA terminal points that out better than anything else.

Saarinen's* qualities as a sculptor are abundant in the TWA terminal. In the photos on Phaidon's site, you can see many of these qualities very clearly. Some instances that are well known would be the flowing stair cases, the hanging clocks, the seating, reception desk, and the handrails. However, some thing more caught my eye when I was comparing the photos that I had seen before, with those on Phaidon's site. In all that Eero Saarinen* crafted for the terminal, he choose textures and colors that added depth to the dramatic, but smooth lines he drew in 3 dimensional space. Space and depth became divided, not so much by a line, but more by a cast shadow or a subtle change in tone depth. This added a dimension that takes normal 3 dimensional space to its limit. With his final work, he really showed his hand as an artist, as an architect, and...in the words of Florence Knoll, "before anything else, as a sculptor".

Knoll Furniture

Photo property of 2modern.com

While Knoll* is known for their furniture and influence on modern design, it seems that there is a lot more talk about Herman Miller. From what I've seen, it seems that Herman Miller has simply kept itself in the forefront by placement in the market place, progressive design, and keeping a tighter hold on mid-century/atomic design. That being said, I'm not saying Herman Miller doesn't deserve it. They do! They really are a high quality forward thinking company that has seemingly stayed true to their roots and philosophies. The respect they have is well warranted.

Photo source:
http://www.aisleone.net/2010/design/mid-century-knoll-ads/

While I've been trying to find out why there is...seemingly, more talk about Herman Miller than Knoll*, I ran across a number of articles and videos that helped me appreciate Knoll* more than I originally did. Don't worry, I'm not going to bore you with a ton of links to other articles. However, I would like to share a video that I found on youtube of a Knoll* event about Eero Saarinen and some of his design.  Reality being, if you understand the history of a company or design, you can appreciate it just a bit better.

This video helped realized that Knoll*, while their logo is less cool than the 50's and 60's, is still a company that has had a huge part in the Mid-Century Modern genre. Don't get me wrong. I've studied MCM design* long enough to know who where the big players. Still, if you don't here much about a company for a long time, then you tend to forget about them a bit more.

Frequently people talk online about furniture and designs by famous designers and the influence their design had on the world. Yet, a lot of times, very little mention is made of the companies that made these designers concepts become reality. While the designing is a pain staking process that demands respect for completion, equal respect is due to the companies that back and promote the products so that they sell.

So, here's the video, enjoy.