The second project J. Irwin Miller and Eero Saarinen worked on in Columbus was the Millers’ personal residence, one of the few residential homes Saarinen designed and the second home he designed for Irwin and Xenia. Saarinen’s first commission for the Millers was a 1952 cottage in Ontario. The Miller House, named a National Historic [...]

As I noted in my previous post about Columbus, the friendship between J. Irwin Miller and Eero Saarinen resulted in three important projects in the city, all National Historic Landmarks with stunning landscapes by Dan Kiley. The Irwin Union Bank and Trust (1954), the Miller House (1957) and North Christian Church (1964). This post will focus on Saarinen’s bank, [...]

“Mediocrity is expensive.” This quote by the late J. Irwin Miller sums up the ethos behind the commitment to serious, high-level architecture and landscaping in Columbus, Indiana, a small city of roughly 40,000 people 40 miles south of Indianapolis. This commitment to quality goes beyond the architecture or trees. From spending three days in Columbus [...]

I’m headed this weekend to Columbus, Indiana, Middle America’s Modern Mecca. The town of 39,000 people located 40 miles south of Indianapolis has dozens of mid-century modern and modern buildings by the world’s leading architects. Think I.M. Pei, Eliel Saarinen, Eero Saarinen, Richard Meier, Harry Weese, Eliot Noyes, Cesar Pelli, Deborah Berke, Robert A.M. Stern [...]