AMERICAN MASTERS: Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw The Future

Explore the life of the modernist architect behind visionary buildings like St. Louis’ Gateway Arch.

AMERICAN MASTERS "Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw The Future" explores the life and visionary work of Finnish-American modernist architectural giant Eero Saarinen (1910-1961) in the series’ Season 30 finale, premiering nationwide Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016 at 8 p.m. on PBS and available on DVD Jan. 3, 2017 from PBS.

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Eero Saarinen’s son, Eric Saarinen, on location in front of St. Louis’ iconic Gateway Arch. Eric is the director of photography and co-producer of AMERICAN MASTERS "Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future.”

Courtesy of Peter Rosen Productions, Inc.

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Eero Saarinen with a model of St. Louis’ Gateway Arch, ca. 1957.

Courtesy of Manuscripts & Archives, Yale University Library

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Finnish-American modernist architectural giant Eero Saarinen’s visionary buildings include National Historic Landmarks such as St. Louis’ iconic Gateway Arch.

Courtesy of Eric Saarinen, Peter Rosen Productions, Inc.

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General Motors Technical Center (Warren, Mich.) is one of several National Historic Landmarks designed by Eero Saarinen.

Courtesy of Eric Saarinen, ASC / Peter Rosen Productions, Inc.

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Miller House (Columbus, Ind.) is one of several National Historic Landmarks designed by Eero Saarinen, who also designed modernist pedestal furniture like the Tulip chairs pictured.

Courtesy of Eric Saarinen, ASC / Peter Rosen Productions, Inc.

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North Christian Church (Columbus, Ind.) is one of several National Historic Landmarks designed by Eero Saarinen.

Courtesy of Eric Saarinen, ASC / Peter Rosen Productions, Inc.

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Eero Saarinen with a scale model of Virginia’s Dulles Airport interior.

Courtesy of Library of Congress

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Virginia’s Dulles Airport, designed by Eero Saarinen.

Courtesy of Eric Saarinen, ASC / Peter Rosen Productions, Inc.

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MIT’s Kresge Auditorium (Cambridge, Mass.), designed by Eero Saarinen.

Courtesy of Eric Saarinen, ASC / Peter Rosen Productions, Inc.

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Deere & Company World Headquarters (Moline, Ill.), designed by Eero Saarinen.

Courtesy of Eric Saarinen, ASC / Peter Rosen Productions, Inc.

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New York’s TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport, designed by Eero Saarinen.

Courtesy of Eric Saarinen, ASC / Peter Rosen Productions, Inc.

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Eero Saarinen’s son, Eric Saarinen, on location at New York’s TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Eric is the director of photography and co-producer of AMERICAN MASTERS "Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future.”

Courtesy of Peter Rosen Productions, Inc.

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Eero Saarinen with model of Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges at Yale University, ca. 1960.

Courtesy of Manuscripts & Archives, Yale University Library

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Yale University’s Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges (New Haven, Conn.), designed by Eero Saarinen.

Courtesy of Eric Saarinen, ASC / P

Best known for designing National Historic Landmarks such as St. Louis’ iconic Gateway Arch and the General Motors Technical Center (Warren, Mich.), Saarinen also designed New York’s TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Yale University’s Ingalls Rink and Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges, Virginia’s Dulles Airport, and modernist pedestal furniture like the Tulip chair. His sudden death at age 51 cut short one of the most influential careers in American architecture.

Saarinen’s son, director of photography and co-producer Eric Saarinen, ASC ("Lost in America," "The Hills Have Eyes," "Exploratorium"), visits the sites of his father’s work on a cathartic journey, shot in 6K with the latest in drone technology that showcases the architect’s body of timeless work for the first time. The documentary also features rare archival interviews with Eero and his second wife, The New York Times art critic Aline Saarinen, as well as letters and quotations from Aline’s memoirs voiced respectively by Peter Franzén and Blythe Danner.

“Closure was something I didn’t have with my dad. But I forgive him for his genius,” said Eric Saarinen, ASC. “He figured out a way to be important across time, so even though he died young, he is still alive.”

The son of prominent Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen and textile designer Loja Saarinen, Eero was surrounded by design his whole life, as was his son Eric, whose mother Lily Saarinen was a sculptor, artist and educator. Immigrating at the age of 13 to Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Eero attended Cranbrook Academy of Art, designed by Eliel, who taught there and became the school’s first president as well as the chief architect of the Cranbrook campus, with Eero designing details like gargoyles and chairs. Eric also grew up at Cranbrook with his parents, grandparents, their friends and collaborators, including his godparents, designers Charles and Ray Eames.

“This film is both an immersive look at an architect’s work and a father-son story across generations. Once Eric agreed to go on this journey with me, I knew the results would be compelling and revealing,” said Emmy-, Peabody- and DGA Award-winning filmmaker Peter Rosen (AMERICAN MASTERS "Jascha Heifetz: God’s Fiddler," AMERICAN MASTERS "Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes," AMERICAN MASTERS "Rubinstein Remembered").

In this film, Eric also tours North Christian Church and the Miller House (both National Historic Landmarks in Columbus, Indiana), Deere & Company World Headquarters (Moline, Illinois) and MIT’s Kresge Auditorium (Cambridge, Massachusetts).

The documentary features new interviews with architects Kevin Roche, César Pelli, Rafael Viñoly, and Robert A. M. Stern, and industrial designer Niels Diffrient, who all worked with or were influenced by Saarinen. Architecture critic Paul Goldberger, curator Donald Albrecht ("Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future"), author Jayne Merkel ("Eero Saarinen") and Cathleen McGuigan, editor-in-chief of Architectural Record, also provide perspectives on why Saarinen’s work stands apart and continues to inspire, especially amongst renewed interest in 20th-century architects and artists.

CREDITS:

A co-production of Peter Rosen Productions, Inc., THIRTEEN’s AMERICAN MASTERS for WNET, and Detroit Public Television in association with YLE. Peter Rosen is producer and director. Eric Saarinen, ASC, is director of photography and co-producer. Blythe Danner is the voice of Aline Saarinen. Peter Franzén is the voice of Eero Saarinen. Kris Liem and Adam Zucker are editors with music by Moby. Sandra Vaughan is co-producer and Robert L. Ziegelman, FAIA, is associate producer and consultant. Michael Kantor is executive producer for AMERICAN MASTERS.

Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future - Trailer

"Explore the life of Eero Saarinen (1910-1961)