Eero Saarinen, a 20th-century Finnish American architect and industrial designer, will be on air with a new documentary on PBS December 27th as part of its American Masters Series. The film titled Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future will explore the master architect's personal life and professional projects making memorable architectural legacy.

Visionary works of Finnish-American modernist architectural giant Eero Saarinen (1910-1961) in the series’ Season 30 finale will be premiering nationwide Tuesday, December 27 at 8 p.m. on PBS and available on DVD January 3, 2017 from PBS Distribution. PBS also published a short teaser about the documentary can bee seen below:

Storefront for Art and Architecture 2016 Spring Benefit, Beyond Borders. Image © Romy Rodiek

Best known for designing National Historic Landmarks such as St. Louis’ iconic Gateway Arch and the General Motors Technical Center (Warren, Mich.), Saarinen also designed New York’s TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Yale University’s Ingalls Rink and Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges, Virginia’s Dulles Airport, and modernist pedestal furniture like the Tulip chair. His sudden death at age 51 cut short one of the most influential careers in American architecture.

Gateway Arch / Eero Saarinen. Image © Exothermic/Flickr

Saarinen’s son, director of photography and co-producer Eric Saarinen, ASC (Lost in America, The Hills Have Eyes, Exploratorium), visits the sites of his father’s work on a cathartic journey, shot in 6K with the latest in drone technology that showcases the architect’s body of timeless work for the first time. The documentary also features rare archival interviews with Eero and his second wife, The New York Times art critic Aline Saarinen, as well as letters and quotations from Aline’s memoirs voiced respectively by Peter Franzén and Blythe Danner.

''Closure was something I didn’t have with my dad. But I forgive him for his genius,'' said Eric Saarinen, ASC. ''He figured out a way to be important across time, so even though he died young, he is still alive.''

The Tulip Chair. Image © Wikimedia user Holger.Ellgaard licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

''This film is both an immersive look at an architect’s work and a father-son story across generations. Once Eric agreed to go on this journey with me, I knew the results would be compelling and revealing,” said Emmy-, Peabody- and DGA Award-winning filmmaker Peter Rosen (American Masters — Jascha Heifetz: God’s Fiddler, American Masters — Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes, American Masters — Rubinstein Remembered).

Yale University’s Ingalls Rink. Image courtesy of Worthpoint

Eric also tours North Christian Church and the Miller House (both National Historic Landmarks in Columbus, Ind.), Deere & Company World Headquarters (Moline, Ill.) and MIT’s Kresge Auditorium (Cambridge, Mass.). The documentary features new interviews with architects Kevin Roche, César Pelli, Rafael Viñoly, and Robert A. M. Stern, and industrial designer Niels Diffrient, who all worked with or were influenced by Saarinen. 

Image © MWAA

Architecture critic Paul Goldberger, curator Donald Albrecht (Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future), author Jayne Merkel (Eero Saarinen) and Cathleen McGuigan, editor-in-chief of Architectural Record, also provide perspectives on why Saarinen’s work stands apart and continues to inspire, especially amongst renewed interest in 20th-century architects and artists.

Top image via Video/Youtube

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