Authors:

Eero Saarinen Quotes

Function influence but does not dictate form

Function influence but does not dictate form

Eero Saarinen
Doe, Influence, Form

The purpose of architecture is to shelter and enhance man's life on earth and to fulfill his belief in the nobility of his existence.

Eero Saarinen
Men, Purpose, Earth
Eero Saarinen (1962). “Eero Saarinen on His Work: A Selection of Buildings Dating from 1947 to 1964 with Statements by the Architect”, New Haven : Yale University Press

I have come to the conviction that once one embarks on a concept for a building, this concept has to be exaggerated and overstated and repeated in every part of its interior so that wherever you are, inside or outside, the building sings with the same message.

Eero Saarinen
Messages, Building, Conviction
Eero Saarinen, Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen, Donald Albrecht (2006). “Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future”, p.353, Yale University Press

Confusion comes from trying to amalgamate several conflicting ideas.

Eero Saarinen
Ideas, Confusion, Trying
Eero Saarinen (1962). “Eero Saarinen on His Work: A Selection of Buildings Dating from 1947 to 1964 with Statements by the Architect”, New Haven : Yale University Press

To me the drawn language is a very revealing language: one can see in a few lines whether a man is really an architect.

Eero Saarinen
Men, Lines, Architecture
Eero Saarinen (1962). “Eero Saarinen on His Work: A Selection of Buildings Dating from 1947 to 1964 with Statements by the Architect”, New Haven : Yale University Press

I wanted to clear up the slum of legs… I wanted to make the chair all one thing again.

Eero Saarinen
Legs, Chairs, Clear
Eero Saarinen (1962). “Eero Saarinen on His Work: A Selection of Buildings Dating from 1947 to 1964 with Statements by the Architect”, New Haven : Yale University Press

What you newspaper and magazine writers, who work in rabbit time, don't understand is that the practice of architecture has to be measured in elephant time.

Eero Saarinen
Practice, Elephants, Rabbits
Eero Saarinen (1962). “Eero Saarinen on His Work: A Selection of Buildings Dating from 1947 to 1964 with Statements by the Architect”, New Haven : Yale University Press

Egyptian pyramids or obelisks – seemed to be the basis of the great memorials that have kept their significance and dignity across time. Neither an obelisk nor a rectangular box nor a dome seemed right on this site or for this purpose. But here, at the edge of the Mississippi River, a great arch did seem right.

Eero Saarinen
Rivers, Arches, Domes
"Eero Saarinen on His Work: A Selection of Buildings Dating from 1947 to 1964 with Statements by the Architect".

You May Also Like: