Where Today Meets Tomorrow: Eero Saarinen and the General Motors Technical Center

by Susan Skarsgard, Kevin Roche (Foreword)

Long before Microsoft or Apple occupied their legendary corporate campuses, there was the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. Completed in 1956 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2014, this icon of midcentury design was celebrated modern architect Eero Saarinen's (1910 – 1961) first major commission completed independent of his father, Eliel Saarinen, and its story offers a unique perspective on his work.

Longtime GM designer Susan Skarsgard weaves a detailed insider's account of the early days of General Motors, the initiation of the technical center project under Eliel Saarinen, its design and construction under Eero Saarinen, and the enthusiastic acclaim the campus received upon its opening. Many leading lights of midcentury modernism were involved in the project as design consultants or artists, including Harry Bertoia, Alexander Girard, Florence Knoll, and Alexander Calder. This lavishly illustrated account is a unique document of a landmark project, presented in photographs and architectural drawings, interviews, documents, and ephemera, many never before seen.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

256 pages, Hardcover

Published October 22, 2019

Reviews

[Harvey J.]

The post WWII modern era is like no other, and the GM "Tech Center" brings that to life. Yes, it was an era of ideas and fresh technology - often brought to fore in architectural design. But is was also an era focused on assisting society life "better" and in so doing conveyed hope to all. The writings and images in this book serve as testimony to that conviction.

[Jose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book, oversized coffee-table book on such a great and historic place of General Motors when GM was GM and not gm(as it is today.) Excellent photography,although I wish it had even more Color pictures (there is a lot.) and something with the Corvette in it not just the GM passenger Line. There is a beautiful shot i loved in particular of the GM Firebird II in a greenish/blue hue I have never seen before or perhaps it is just the photograph. Great reading too, I am not a huge fan of Modernism/Futurism but I appreciate the GM technical Center and despite the intro By Roche regarding something to the effect of This is not the architecture of Popes and Emperors Which I feel is a slight and out of place, The book gets top billing on my shelf next to other beautiful Books. Some Of Eliel and Eero's work is not my cup of tea as the saying goes but being a Fan of Automotive Design I had to have this book on where the Magic once happened(some argue still does,I'd say Corvette only).

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good visual accompaniment to the book: https://www.ceros.com/inspire/origina...

[MattA · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice book on the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, which is arguably a masterpiece of midcentury architecture. The images presented are captivating and by themselves are worth ones attention.

The text is less inspiring. The author admits in the introduction that the book "is written from the point of view of the client." At times, it reads more like a marketing brochure and slips towards being a near hagiography for the company, especially in the first chapter, "GM History". The middle chapters on the design and construction of the Tech Center are more interesting. I would have appreciated more discussion of how the design of the Tech Center fit into the evolution of the Saarinens' overall body of work and the larger trends of the midcentury modern design movement. [NOTE: There is a book that discusses the Tech Center's place in the larger midcentury modern movement: Michigan Modern: design that shaped America. Skarsgard wrote the chapter on the GM Tech Center in that book as well. Highly recommended for fans of midcentury modern.]

But the photographs are the stars of the show here, and in that aspect the book does not disappoint.