This week, the iconic 1960s #TWA Flight Center designed by legendary architect Eero Saarinen reopened as a hotel @JFKairport in New York.
Before achieving fame as a master of American 20th-century architecture, Eero worked for #OSS, our #WWII spy agency.
bit.ly/2muiNWl
During #WWII, Eero was recruited to #OSS & appointed Chief of Special Exhibits Section.
He designed:
- Military schools & situation rooms
- 3D org chart instrumental in showing procedure & work-flow problems throughout #OSS
- Model weapons for training & film props
OSS considered Eero “the most versatile & gifted young designer & architect in this country.”
His work for #OSS was highly commended by Undersecretary of War, Director of Women’s Army Corps, & many others.
His OSS experience & experiments are reflected in his later design work.
Eero become a prolific architect who designed furniture, national memorials, corporate campuses and, of course, airport terminals.
In addition to the #TWA terminal, some of his most famous designs are the iconic @GatewayArchSTL, @Dulles_Airport, & the “Tulip” chair & table.
Eero Saarinen: “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… I hope that some of my buildings will have lasting truths. I admit frankly I would like a place in architectural history.”
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