Eliel Saarinen
Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈeliel ˈsɑːrinen]; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish architect known for his work with art deco buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was the father of Eero Saarinen.
Life and work in Finland
Saarinen was educated in Helsinki at the Helsinki University of Technology. From 1896 to 1905 he worked as a partner with Herman Gesellius and Armas Lindgren at the firm Gesellius, Lindgren, and Saarinen. His first major work with the firm, the Finnish pavilion at the World Fair of 1900, exhibited an extraordinary convergence of stylistic influences: Finnish wooden architecture, the British Gothic Revival, and the Jugendstil. Saarinen's early manner was later christened the Finnish National Romanticism and culminated in the Helsinki Central railway station (designed 1904, constructed 1910-14). Between 1902 and 1912, he was also co-author of the design for the Fennia series, produced by Arabia pottery.
From 1910 to 1915 he worked on the extensive city-planning project of Munksnäs-Haga and later published a book on the subject. In January 1911 he became a consultant in city planning for Reval, Estonia and was invited to Budapest to advise in city development. In 1912, a brochure written by Saarinen about the planning problems of Budapest was published. In April 1913 he received the first place award in an international competition for his plan of Reval. From 1917 to 1918 Saarinen worked on the city-plan for greater Helsinki. He also designed the Finnish markka banknotes introduced in 1922.
