Booth considered dozens of architects for the design of
Cranbrook’s master plan, before retaining the great Finnish archi-
tect Eliel Saarinen. Born in 1873, Saarinen had studied at the
Helsinki University of Technology; his early influences included
Art Nouveau and the Vienna Secession. In Finland, the applied
arts — marrying design and aesthetics in everyday objects — were
the cornerstones of national culture and Saarinen, like Booth,
subscribed to Arts and Crafts ideals. Projects like the Helsinki
Railway Station also demonstrated his ability as a city planner.
Saarinen had entered the 1922 design competition for
Chicago’s Tribune Tower and, after placing second, traveled to
Chicago. He moved to Ann Arbor in 1923 to teach architectural
design at the University of Michigan, counting Booth’s son Henry
among his students. Booth was so excited by Saarinen’s inte-
grated approach to architecture, urban planning and the applied
arts, an outlook not widely shared in the American architectural
community, that he asked him not only to design the Cranbrook
campus, but to serve as the academy’s president. Although
Saarinen had intended to return to Finland, his discussions with
Booth changed his mind. Critical of the American pedagogical
tradition, with its emphasis on instruction over practical applica-
tion, he leaped at the opportunity to develop a more creative
environment for aspiring architects and designers.
From 1925 to 1930, Saarinen designed buildings for the
various craft shops that Booth envisioned. To underscore the
built environment’s importance for the creative process, he also
designed many of the academy’s everyday objects, including
silverware, table settings and serving pieces. He enlisted the
talents of his family, as well: 19-year-old son Eero designed the
furniture for the Kingswood School for girls; daughter Pipsan took
over the interior design for the auditorium and ballroom; and his
wife, Loja, designed the curtains, tapestries, rugs and upholstery
fabric, all woven by Swedish weavers employed in her studio.
Cranbrook Academy of Art opened in 1932. It taught both
design and architecture, setting it apart from other American
schools, such as Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, which taught
only design. Also unusual was the lack of set course require-
ments for graduate students; considered full-fledged artists
Top left Harry Bertoia, left, head of the metalworking studio from 1939-1943, with a student in 1939.
Top right Tea set created by Harry Bertoia at Cranbrook in 1942.
Above Photography students filming the movie Jazz, 1942.
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