Working with scale models: Eero saarinen and charles eames in the organic design competition, Moma, 1941

Abstract

This article looks at the background of the first exhibition given over to modern furniture design in America organized at the Museum of Modern Art in 1941. It becomes clear that the great majority of the designs awarded prizes in the competition prior to the exhibition were produced by young architects. This was because they were the only people who were up-to-date with modern trends emanating from the Bauhaus or Scandinavian design. Both the organizer, Eliot Noyes, and the prize-winners, Eero Saarinen and Charles Eames, became prominent after the Second World War as designers with outstanding professional careers. Finally, it is of interest to note the part played by prototypes and scale models in the processes of furniture design. © 2019 Universitat Politecnica de Valencia. All rights reserved.