Working with Scale Models: Eero Saarinen and Charles Eames in the Organic Design Competition, MoMA, 1941

Abstract

[EN] 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.

[ES] El presente artículo estudia los antecedentes de la primera exposición dedicada al diseño de mobiliario moderno en América organizada en el MoMA en 1941. Se constata que la gran mayoría de los diseños premiados en el concurso previo a la exposición fueron elaborados por jóvenes arquitectos, ya que eran los únicos que estaban al día de las tendencias modernas derivadas de la Bauhaus o del diseño escandinavo. Tanto el organizador, Eliot Noyes, como los premiados, Eero Saarinen y Charles Eames, despuntaron tras la guerra mundial como diseñadores de sobresaliente trayectoria profesional. Por último, resulta de interés comprobar el papel que llegaron a alcanzar los prototipos y maquetas a escala en los procesos de diseño de mobiliario.