Lecture: The Architecture of Flight

Form and Function in Eero Saarinen’s Terminals in New York and Virginia
David Brashear
Tuesday, May 16
6:00 to 7:30 p.m.

Landmarks Preservation Resource Center
744 Rebecca Avenue, Wilkinsburg, PA 15221

At the dawn of the jet age, Eero Saarinen was called upon for two very important airport projects that helped to shape the way air transport would be accomplished in the United States. With the TWA Terminal at Idlewild Airport in New York (now JFK), Saarinen provided an important gateway and backdrop to the rapidly growing commercial aviation business in America. He and his team started from scratch, and worked to understand every functional aspect of airline operations. They optimized processes, and provided a template for other airports to follow.

At Dulles International Airport in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., Saarinen and his team used all that they had learned in New York and confronted the larger task of designing and building an entirely new airport in a collection of farm fields. Dulles Airport was the first airport designed specifically for jet aircraft. Both the TWA Terminal and the Dulles Airport terminal are two of the most important airport buildings of the 20th century. This lecture will chart the path that Saarinen took in this sequence of projects, and allow a deep exploration of the architecture of each terminal.

About the presenter: David Brashear has studied architectural history at Columbia University since 2009. He founded the Architectural Lecture Series at the Muscarelle Museum at the College of William and Mary in 2011. Mr. Brashear has lectured on a variety of architectural topics, and is currently working on a book highlighting key work sequences of five American architects of the 20th century. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the Harvard Business School.

This lecture is FREE to PHLF members. Non-members: $10. RSVPs are appreciated: Marylu@phlf.org or 412-471-5808 ext. 527