Eliel Saarinen's Tribune Tower design or the Saarinen tower are terms used to describe the unnamed and unbuilt design for a

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ri ...

, created by Finnish architect

Eliel Saarinen Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish-American architect known for his work with art nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Eero Saarinen. Lif ...

and submitted in 1922 for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''s architectural competition for a new headquarters. The winning entry, the

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

Tribune Tower, was constructed in 1925. Saarinen's entry came in second place yet became influential in the design of a number of future buildings.

Background

In 1921–22, the prominent Tribune Tower competition was held to design a new headquarters for the ''Chicago Tribune'', a major American metropolitan newspaper. It attracted 260 entries. First place was awarded to a design by New York architects John Mead Howells and

Raymond Hood Raymond Mathewson Hood (March 29, 1881 – August 14, 1934) was an American architect who worked in the Neo-Gothic and Art Deco styles. He is best known for his designs of the Tribune Tower, American Radiator Building, and Rockefeller Center. Th ...

, a

building completed in 1925. Saarinen was awarded $20,000 for second place; his design was never constructed. Many observers felt that Saarinen's simplified yet soaring setback tower was the most appropriate entry, and his novel modernist design influenced many subsequent architectural projects. Saarinen was a veteran architect but had never before designed a skyscraper. To arrive at his noteworthy design, he took as a starting place the upward sweep of

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...

, but then advanced this sense of verticality as his primary design principle. He said that through "logical construction" each portion of the design was made to reflect the larger goal of verticality.Solomonson 2003, p. 175. He was 49 years old when he submitted the design; the next year he moved from Finland to the Chicago area. In the U.S., he contributed to an overall design for the Chicago lakefront, and he lectured at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, but none of his skyscraper designs were ever built. Instead, others found success by incorporating his vision. Tribune Tower competition co-winner Raymond Hood adopted Saarinen's skyscraper style for several of his subsequent projects,Solomonson 2003, p. 247. and Saarinen's design was emulated by other contemporary architects such as

Timothy L. Pflueger Timothy Ludwig Pflueger (September 26, 1892 – November 20, 1946) was an architect, interior designer and architectural lighting designer in the San Francisco Bay Area in the first half of the 20th century. Together with James R. Miller, Pflue ...

, George W. Kelham, Hubbell and Benes, Holabird & Roche, Alfred C. Finn, and

James Edwin Ruthven Carpenter, Jr. James Edwin Ruthven Carpenter Jr. (January 7, 1867 – June 11, 1932) was the leading architect of luxury residential high-rise buildings in New York City in the early 1900s. Biography He studied at the University of Tennessee and at the Mas ...

, as well as later architect

César Pelli César Pelli (October 12, 1926 – July 19, 2019) was an Argentine-American architect who designed some of the world's tallest buildings and other major urban landmarks. Two of his most notable buildings are the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpu ...

Reception

Respected Chicago architect

Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago School, a mentor to Frank Lloy ...

offered high praise to Saarinen's design, and said that his building indicated the future direction for the old Chicago School. Sullivan named Saarinen his stylistic successor. Chicago architects

Thomas Tallmadge Thomas Eddy Tallmadge (April 24, 1876 – January 1, 1940) was an American architect, best known for his Prairie School works with Vernon S. Watson as Tallmadge & Watson. Biography Thomas Eddy Tallmadge was born in Washington, D.C. on April 24, ...

and

Irving Kane Pond Irving Kane Pond (May 1, 1857 – September 29, 1939) was an American architect, college athlete, and author. Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Pond attended the University of Michigan and received a degree in civil engineering in 1879. He was a m ...

were also very vocal in their praise for Saarinen. Pond said Saarinen's design was by far the best contest entry, that it was devoid of the superficial adornments featured on the winning entry, and free of the "stranglehold of conventional forms." Tallmadge projected that Saarinen's design would be transformative for American skyscrapers. He said that under Saarinen's hand, the spirit of the skyscraper, "rid of its inhibitions and suppressed desires... leaps in joyous freedom to the sky." Skyscraper Museum director Carol Willis, and art consultant

Franck Mercurio Franck can refer to: People * Franck (name) Other * Franck (company), Croatian coffee and snacks company * Franck (crater), Lunar crater named after James Franck See also * Franc (disambiguation) * Franks * Frank (disambiguation) * Frankie ...

, curator at the

Field Museum The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational ...

in Chicago, offer moderating modern views about the influence of Saarinen's design. Willis notes that setback architecture was being implemented in New York City highrises because of 1916 zoning ordinances related to building height and sunlight, and that Saarinen's design was understood to be an embodiment of this trend. Mercurio points to the Tribune Tower competition entry from American architect Bertram Goodhue as having the same modernist features as Saarinen's, with dramatic setbacks but a more pronounced simplification of the exterior. Mercurio argues that Goodhue's design is a better example of modernism because it has less ornamentation. Goodhue's entry gained him honorable mention but no cash award.

Buildings influenced

The following buildings are regarded to have been influenced by Saarinen's 1922 design.

References

{{reflist

External links

The Chicago Tribune Competition
Skyscraper Museum Buildings and structures by Finnish architects Unbuilt buildings and structures in the United States History of Chicago 1920s architecture in the United States Art Deco architecture in Illinois