The son of architect and Cranbrook Academy of Art director Eliel Saarinen and his wife, textile artist Loja, Eero Saarinen studied fine arts in Paris and architecture at Yale before working on furniture design with Norman Bel Geddes and practicing architecture with his father in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He collaborated on several projects, including a plywood leg splint for the U.S. Army, with his friend, Cranbrook alumnus Charles Eames. He opened his own practice in Ann Arbor in 1950. Among the many buildings for which he is known are Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri and the TWA Terminal at Kennedy International Airport in New York. He was the recipient of numerous awards and the subject of many exhibitions.