history slide test

Envisioning a Campus

To help him formalize his vision for an educational epicenter, in 1925 Booth approached Eliel Saarinen, a Finnish émigré currently serving a visiting professorship of architectural design at the University of Michigan. Booth was most interested in establishing an Academy of Art, and Saarinen’s impressive proposed site plan for the school compelled Booth to invite him to head the Cranbrook Architectural Offices. Saarinen would go on to develop plans for the campus, which eventually expanded to include the construction of grade schools for both boys and girls, an Academy of Art, Craft Studios, an Institute of Science, and a Library and Art Museum.