At the age of 12, Eero Saarinen won a matchstick design contest. It was the first of many competitions he would win in his life, and foreshadowed his remarkable career as an architect. He grew up in a home where drawing and painting were taken very seriously, and a devotion to quality and professionalism was instilled in him at an early age. He was the son of Eliel Saarinen, a noted and respected architect. His mother Loja Saarinen was a sculptor, weaver and photographer. He was taught early that each object should be designed in its next largest context a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment in a city plan.      The Saarinens emigrated from Finland to the US and settled in Michigan. After studies at Yale School of Architecture Eero Saarinen became an instructor of design at the Cranbrook Academy, and joined his father′s architectural firm. During this period he began to build a reputation as an architect who refused to be restrained by any preconceived ideas. He continued to carefully study the site and its surroundings to ensure that the design encompassed the whole environment.