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| Saarinen
House Saarinen House, the residence of Finnish-American architect and designer Eliel Saarinen and textile designer Loja Saarinen at Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, has been described as "one of the most significant houses built in America during the 1920’s." The house’s garden is among the most outstanding examples of American landscape design reflecting the goals of the Arts and Crafts era. After Eliel’s death in 1950, the house served as the residence of the Academy’s president, and over the years it was altered considerably. In 1977 then-president Roy Slade initiated an effort that would turn into a complete restoration of the house and garden. To Eliel Saarinen, life and art were inextricably bound within an architectural framework that encompassed all aspects of design. While he was not alone in this belief, which was at the heart of the Arts and Crafts movement, he had the rare opportunity to develop it and the vision to integrate it with the often incongruous goals of twentieth-century modernism. As a designer whose continuing search for form extended from silverware and furniture to buildings and city plans, Saarinen helped pioneer the Arts and Crafts movement in Finland and was a leading proponent of Art Deco and later modernist currents in America. Saarinen’s philosophy is evident in Saarinen House and its garden, whose design, furnishings, and decoration were a collaborative effort of the entire Saarinen family -- Eliel, who designed the house and much of its furniture and other objects, Loja, who designed the textiles and helped design the garden, son Eero, and daughter Pipsan-- as well as many master artisans at Cranbrook. More than forty years later, in the course of the restoration, false walls were removed, layers of paint were stripped away to reveal original color schemes, long-lost furnishings were recovered, textiles were rewoven, and ceramic tile was cleaned. A close study of early plans, planting lists, photographs, and films was conducted to ensure the accurate restoration of the garden to its original state. The lush color photographs seen here were taken especially for Saarinen House and Garden: A Total Work of Art, by internationally renowned architectural photographer Balthazaar Korab. |
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