Finnish Design Takes Flight: Eero Saarinen’s TWA Flight Center from Terminal to Hotel

Eero Saarinen: A Finnish-American Visionary

Eero Saarinen was born in Finland in 1910 and moved to the United States with his family as a teenager. His father, Eliel Saarinen, was a prominent architect who instilled in Eero a rigorous design philosophy. Growing up, Eero learned that every object should be designed in context – “a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment”. This holistic, human-centric approach is a hallmark of Finnish design thinking and would guide Eero throughout his career.

Saarinen quickly emerged as an architectural innovator in America. Educated at Yale and working alongside his father at the Cranbrook Academy in Michigan, he developed a reputation as an architect who “refused to be restrained by any preconceived ideas”. From futuristic airports to monumental arches, Saarinen’s works were diverse but always forward-looking. His creations — including the St. Louis Gateway Arch and Manhattan’s CBS Building — epitomized the postwar era’s optimism and ambition. (The 38-story CBS tower, completed in 1965, was the only skyscraper Saarinen designed, which he called the “simplest skyscraper statement in New York”.) By the mid-20th century, this Finnish-American visionary was sought after to design projects that symbolized progress in transportation, technology, and culture.

Nordic Footprints in New York City

Even though the Nordic and Baltic immigrant population in New York has always been relatively small, their impact on the city’s design and architecture has been remarkable. In the early 20th century, Finnish immigrants in NYC pioneered cooperative housing, leaving an enduring mark on the urban landscape. Instead of crowding into tenements, a group of 16 Finnish families in 1916 pooled resources to build New York’s first non-profit housing co-op in Brooklyn. They named their apartment building Alku (Finnish for “beginning”), and it lived up to its name. The idea of limited-equity cooperative housing spread rapidly: within a decade, the Finnish community’s Finntown enclave in Sunset Park grew to 25 co-op buildings housing roughly 10,000 Finns. This was a revolutionary concept at the time, and today cooperative apartments are a prevalent part of New York’s housing options – a direct legacy of those Nordic newcomers.

‍

Finntown’s influence extended beyond housing. The Finnish penchant for functional yet elegant design became woven into the city’s fabric. By the mid-1900s, Scandinavian modernism – with its clean lines, human-centric approach, and respect for materials – was gaining popularity in New York’s design circles. It was in this context that Eero Saarinen, a second-generation Finnish immigrant, would bring a bold new vision to one of New York’s most high-profile arenas: the modern airport. Saarinen’s work in the city, especially at John F. Kennedy International Airport, shows how a small Nordic community’s design ethos helped shape New York’s architectural landscape in outsized ways.

Wings of the Jet Age: Designing the TWA Flight Center

The Trans World Airlines Flight Center’s iconic wing-shaped concrete roof seems ready for takeoff, exemplifying Saarinen’s aim to capture the spirit of flight in architecture.

In 1956, Trans World Airlines (TWA) commissioned Eero Saarinen to design a dedicated terminal at Idlewild Airport (now JFK). Rather than a conventional building, Saarinen delivered a sculpture in concrete. He “sought to capture the sensation of flight in all aspects of the building, from a fluid and open interior to the wing-like concrete shell of the roof”. The result was the TWA Flight Center, an audacious structure with twin concrete wings soaring out from its central hub. Upon its opening in 1962, the terminal was instantly celebrated as an icon of the Jet Age, looking like no airport anyone had seen before. As one architecture writer quipped, skeptics who thought modernism meant only cold right angles were confounded by Saarinen’s TWA Terminal – a building “as curvy as Gina Lollobrigida” (the famously shapely Italian film star).

Every element of the design spoke to movement and speed. The departure lounges featured sunken seating areas under a gull-winged ceiling, and huge curtain walls of glass offered panoramic views of jetliners. Even the furniture was part of the Gesamtkunstwerk: Saarinen outfitted the terminal with his own modern furniture designs, such as his Tulip chairs, whose one-legged, organic form echoed the building’s curves. “He designed more than a functional terminal; he designed a monument to the airline and to aviation itself,” wrote one reviewer of the day. Indeed, with its swooping roof and futurist forms, the TWA Flight Center looked poised to take flight alongside TWA’s planes.

Critics and the public alike recognized the terminal as something extraordinary. Architecture critic Richard Southwick (who would later restore the building) calls it “probably Saarinen’s perfect building… a symbol of this terrific postwar optimism. It’s a symbol of the coming Jet Age. It’s very, very expressive – unlike any other building he’s done.”. The structure was also a technological trailblazer: it was among the first airport terminals to feature jet bridges (enclosed jetways) for boarding and baggage carousels for luggage, innovations that soon became standard. With its marriage of form and function, the Flight Center embodied the “golden age of aviation” – an era when air travel was new, glamorous, and full of promise.

Saarinen, sadly, did not live to see the terminal completed. He died suddenly in 1961 at age 51, just months before the TWA Flight Center opened to the public. But the building immediately became one of his most acclaimed works, earning landmark status in New York City by 1994. For the next four decades, the clam-shell shaped Terminal 5 faithfully served millions of travelers, connecting them to destinations around the world and inspiring awe with its space-age design. It stood as a tangible reminder of how Finnish design vision – combined with American ambition – could create something truly ahead of its time.

From Landmark Terminal to TWA Hotel: Rebirth of an Icon

By the turn of the 21st century, however, the very features that made the TWA Terminal unique also posed challenges. Air travel had evolved: jumbo jets and stringent security protocols strained the small, 1960s-era terminal. In 2001, TWA ceased operations and the flight center closed its doors. For a time, the fate of Saarinen’s masterpiece hung in the balance. Fortunately, preservationists and the Port Authority recognized its value. The city had declared the swooping concrete head house an official landmark in 1994, and in 2005 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, protecting it from demolition. “They realized this building was too iconic to be demolished and looked around for a new use for it,” said Southwick, the restoration architect. Various ideas were floated, but one in particular made perfect sense: convert the flight center into a one-of-a-kind hotel.

After years of planning, the TWA Flight Center found new life as the TWA Hotel, which opened in May 2019. In its new incarnation, Saarinen’s terminal serves as the hotel’s lobby and heart – a mid-century time capsule lovingly restored for 21st-century visitors. New York–based firms Beyer Blinder Belle, Lubrano Ciavarra, and Stonehill Taylor led the adaptive reuse project, carefully returning the building to its 1962 appearance while integrating modern amenities. Two newly constructed wings flank the historic structure, providing 512 guest rooms designed in a retro-mod style. Notably, each hotel room features authentic Knoll furnishings – including Saarinen’s own Womb chairs and Tulip tables – so guests can literally sit in the designer’s work while admiring the view. The attention to detail in the preservation is evident down to the chili-pepper red carpeting and the famous departure board in the lobby, which once again flaps with flight information (now purely for show and nostalgia).

Inside the TWA Hotel, Saarinen’s 1962 terminal has been revived as a glamorous lobby. The famous sunken lounge with its red carpet welcomes guests, while outside the window the restored 1958 “Connie” Lockheed Constellation airplane serves as a cocktail bar, blending history with hospitality.

Walking into the TWA Hotel today is like stepping back into 1962 – with a modern twist. The sunken lounge in the center of the space, with its low-slung red seating and sweeping upward-curving ceiling, has been revived as a cocktail bar and gathering area. Outside on the tarmac, a genuine Lockheed Constellation L-1649A airplane nicknamed “Connie” has been restored and repurposed as a swanky cocktail lounge, complete with vintage TWA branding. (The aircraft, dating from 1958, was painstakingly transported and installed as an attraction – you can sip a martini inside the retro cabin while imagining a time when propeller planes like this ruled the skies.) The hotel features high-end restaurants, bars, and even an observation deck with an infinity pool overlooking JFK’s runways. It’s a touch of Jet Age glam at a modern airport.

Critics and travelers have embraced the reborn TWA Hotel with enthusiasm. “JFK’s newly opened TWA Hotel is already the season’s buzziest destination,” wrote Metropolis magazine in 2019, calling it a “midcentury Modern time capsule” that “pays homage to Saarinen’s original vision” while offering contemporary luxuries. The project seamlessly blends preservation with pop culture: there are museum-like exhibits of TWA uniforms and memorabilia, but also trendy boutiques and eateries by star chefs. For design buffs, the experience is nothing short of pilgrimage. Architectural Record noted that it’s “a perfect place for a layover — or to lounge in the sybaritic original space, sipping a martini and listening to Frank Sinatra.” Guests can wander up the famous flight tubes (the crimson-carpeted tunnels that once led to the gates), now leading to event spaces and guestrooms, and truly feel the echo of another era. As one visitor quipped, “the building just screams ‘flight’ with its swooping walls and roofs” – an experience worlds apart from the typical airport hotel.

Of course, not everyone was entirely uncritical. The New York Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman gave a mixed review, praising the preservation of Saarinen’s masterpiece but noting some operational hiccups in the early days of the hotel (like occasionally finicky room controls). He acknowledged the challenge of balancing public access with private hospitality in such a storied space. Yet even he appreciated the sheer “cultural significance” of the endeavor – a building once nearly left for ruin was saved and opened to new generations. In the grand scheme, the TWA Hotel’s minor snags have done little to dampen the excitement. In its first year, thousands of visitors (many not even hotel guests) simply came to admire Saarinen’s cathedral of aviation. For locals and tourists alike, it has become a living museum of design where you can also grab a cocktail and a great Instagram photo.

Finnish Design Thinking in Flight

The saga of the TWA Flight Center – from its bold birth in the Jet Age to its resurrection as an eclectic hotel – underscores the lasting influence of Finnish design thinking on New York’s creative scene. Saarinen’s work embodies principles that Nordic designers have long cherished: human-centered functionality, organic forms, and innovation without fear. He approached the terminal not just as an airport facility, but as an experience crafted for people. Passenger comfort and intuition were paramount – from the flow of check-in and baggage areas to the calming embrace of the sunken lounge meant to soothe jittery first-time fliers. This user-centric mindset echoes the Finnish approach to design, where aesthetics and usability go hand in hand to improve everyday life.

Saarinen also demonstrated the Finnish knack for blending art with technology. Much like Finland’s famed architect Alvar Aalto (who brought organic shapes into modern architecture), Saarinen believed that design should stir the spirit as much as it serves a function. At JFK, he dared to create an airport terminal that uplifted travelers’ imaginations. The TWA Flight Center’s flowing lines and uplifted concrete wings gave form to the abstract concept of flight – making architecture speak when words were not enough. “The building appears to take inspiration from natural forms, with the roofs appearing like the wings of a bird taking flight,” one observer noted, emphasizing how Saarinen made concrete and glass appear almost alive. This poetic functionality is a signature of Nordic design, which often draws from nature to create timeless modern forms.

For New York City, the TWA Flight Center stands as a monument not only to the aviation era, but also to the power of immigrant contributions. It’s remarkable that a son of Finland, from a community that once gathered in Brooklyn’s humble co-ops, would conceive one of New York’s most daring buildings. The Finnish community in New York may never have been large, but through figures like Saarinen and the cooperative builders before him, their cultural influence has soared high. They showed that good design can transcend size or numbers, leaving an indelible mark on a city’s skyline and soul.

Today, creative-minded visitors to the TWA Hotel can appreciate this convergence of past and present, of Nordic design values and American energy. Whether you’re a history enthusiast marveling at Saarinen’s gull-winged concrete, or a traveler simply enjoying a night in a funky retro hotel, the experience is enriching and joyful. As you sip a drink in the Sunken Lounge beneath the gentle curve of that famous ceiling, you are participating in a living legacy. It’s a reminder that behind every great building is a story of people and ideas coming together – in this case, a story of Finnish-American vision and New York ingenuity joining to create something truly iconic that continues to inspire. The TWA Flight Center’s second life as a hotel ensures that Eero Saarinen’s winged masterpiece will keep on flying for generations to come – a bright, optimistic space where the Jet Age meets the Nordic knack for design, right here in the heart of New York City.

‍