Saarinen House at Cranbrook: A Total Work of Art

AIA Houston / Design Council / Sally Walsh Lecture
Speaker: Kevin Adkisson

In the leafy suburbs of Detroit, glowing behind a deceptively modest brick facade, is one of America’s most enchanting Art Deco interiors. Everything in the home of Finnish American designers Eliel and Loja Saarinen exists in harmony. Each object—from fork to table to tapestry, and from building to fountain to landscape—plays a part in an ambitious artistic and educational vision. Completed in 1930, Saarinen House is a showcase of its designer-residents’ talents and a vision statement for the revolutionary Cranbrook community.

Rooted in the zealous mission of the Arts and Crafts movement, between 1918 and 1942 cofounders George and Ellen Booth transformed their private estate, Cranbrook, into a group of schools and museums. Under Eliel Saarinen’s leadership as president and architect, workshops for furniture making, metalsmithing, printing, weaving, and ceramics were established. The Saarinens’ residence was the intellectual center of the campus and an aesthetic triumph with designs from both Eliel and Loja and their children, Pipsan and Eero.

Through vivid architectural drawings, archival photographs, and contemporary color images, Cranbrook curator Kevin Adkisson shares the inspiring story of Cranbrook and Saarinen House, and the continued vision of Cranbrook Educational Community in this century.

Admission is free.

This lecture takes place in Brown Auditorium Theater on the lower level of the Law Building. Seating is limited, and available on a first-come, first-served basis.