High Modernism of Scandanavia
Alvar Aalto, Baker residence hall, MIT, Cambridge MA, 1947-48
Town Hall, Saynatsalo, Finland, by Alvar Aalto, 1949-52
Vuoksenniska Church, Imatra, Finland, by Alvar Aalto, 1956-59
Villa Mairea, by Alvar Aalto, c1956
In 1947, both Eliel Saarinen and his son Eero entered the
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Competition in St. Louis,
Missouri. The winner was announced as “Mr. Saarinen,” and the
family assumed that this reference was to Eliel. In fact, it was the
younger “Mr. Saarinen” who had actually garnered first prize.
The resulting form is now commonly dubbed “the St. Louis
Arch because of its tall parabolic arch (631 feet) soaring on the
west bank of the Mississippi River. The arch was completed in
1961 and remains a symbolic gateway to the west. This project
thrust Eero Saarinen, who had studied architecture at Yale
University, into the orbit of the premiere architects of the country.
TWA Terminal, Idlewild (JFK) Airport, Long Island NY,
by Eero Saarinen, 1956-62
Opera House, Sydney, Australia, by Jorn Utzon, 1957-73