Word of the Day
Eero (ER-oh)
Common clue: Architect Saarinen
Eero Saarinen (August 20, 1910 - September 1, 1961 was a Finnish-American architect of the 20th century famous for his simple sweeping and arching shapes. He is often associated with the International style. He was the son of architect Eliel Saarinen and studied with his father at Cranbrook Academy of Art. He received a B.Arch. From Yale University in 1934. He also designed furniture.
His works include:
Concordia Senior college campus, now Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Gateway Arch, St. Louis, Missouri
TWA Terminal at JFK International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport
Kresge Auditorium at MIT
The Gateway Arch
In 1947, a group of civic leaders held a national competition to select a design for the main portion of the Memorial space. A young Finnish-American architect named Eero Saarinen won this competition with plans for a 590 foot (180 metre) catenary arch to be placed on the banks of the Mississippi River. However, these plans were modified over the next 15 years, placing the arch on higher ground and adding 40 feet (12 m) in height and width.
The construction of the Arch began February 12, 1963 and was completed on October 28, 1965, costing less than US$15 million to build. US Vice President Hubert Humphrey and Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall dedicated the Arch on May 25, 1968.
The Arch stands 630 feet (192 m) tall, and is 630 feet (192 m) at its widest point; by ordinance it is the tallest structure in the city. Its legs areequilateral triangles, narrowing from 54 feet (16.5 m) at the base to 17 feet (5.2 m) at the top. Each wall consists of a stainless steel skin covering reinforced concrete from ground level to 300 feet (91 m) or carbon steel and rebar from 300 feet (91 m) to the peak. The interior of the Arch is hollow and contains a unique transport system leading to an observation deck at the top.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html). It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eero_Saarinen and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_Arch.
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