The project raises questions about the value of architectural design in building cultural capital. One wonders to what extent Saarinen’s signature adds to Yale’s ability to compete with rival institutions in attracting the next generation’s best and brightest. It is worth noting, for example, that YDN’s article on the subject only mentions Saarinen’s name once, mid-way through the article, and only because his “complicated architecture… makes navigating the building difficult.” Student reflection on the matter is limited, with the only ostensibly relevant quote in the article coming from Jennifer Fung ’12, who noted that students must “go through like three doors to get anywhere…”
I, like most of you, cheer Yale’s renewed effort to conserve it’s architectural legacy but it is not enough to take private pleasure in such small victories. As Ezra Stiles residents graduate, many will become our future clients, maturing into powerful decision makers in the worlds of finance, real estate, and government. It is a shame that so little attention has been given to Saarinen’s work on the college as architectural genius. A missed marketing opportunity for the field as a whole, here yet another generation of individuals has been taught to think of the heroic architect as little more than the creator of irrational corridor layouts.