text: eliel saarinen 's tribune tower design eliel saarinen 's tribune tower design or the saarinen tower are terms used to describe the unnamed and unbuilt design for a modernist skyscraper , created by finnish architect eliel saarinen and submitted in 1922 for the chicago tribune 's architectural competition for a new headquarters . the winning entry , the neo - gothic tribune tower , was built in 1925 . saarinen 's entry came in second place yet became influential in the design of a number of future buildings . background in 1921 – 22 , the prominent tribune tower competition was held to design a new headquarters for the chicago tribune , a major us metropolitan newspaper . it attracted 260 entries . first place was awarded to a design by new york architects john mead howells and raymond hood , a neo - gothic building completed in 1925 . saarinen was awarded $ 20 , 000 for second place ; his design was never constructed . many observers felt that saarinen 's simplified yet soaring setback tower was the most appropriate entry , and his novel modernist design influenced many subsequent architectural projects . saarinen was a veteran architect but had never before designed a skyscraper . to arrive at his noteworthy design , he took as a starting place the upward sweep of gothic architecture , but then advanced this sense of verticality as his primary design principle . he said that through " logical construction " each portion of the design was made to reflect the larger goal of verticality . he was 49 years old when he submitted the design ; the next year he moved from finland to the chicago area . in the u.s. , he contributed to an overall design for the chicago lakefront , and he lectured at the university of michigan , but none of his skyscraper designs were ever built . instead , others found success by incorporating his vision . tribune tower competition co - winner raymond hood adopted saarinen 's skyscraper style for several of his subsequent projects , and saarinen 's design was emulated by other contemporary architects such as timothy l. pflueger , george w. kelham , hubbell and benes , holabird & roche , alfred c. finn , and james edwin ruthven carpenter , jr . , as well as later architect césar pelli . reception respected chicago architect louis sullivan offered high praise to saarinen 's design , and said that his building indicated the future direction for the old chicago school . sullivan named saarinen his stylistic successor . chicago architects thomas tallmadge and irving kane pond were also very vocal in their praise for saarinen . pond said saarinen 's design was by far the best contest entry , that it was devoid of the superficial adornments featured on the winning entry , and free of the " stranglehold of conventional forms . " tallmadge projected that saarinen 's design would be transformative for american skyscrapers . he said that under saarinen 's hand , the spirit of the skyscraper , " rid of its inhibitions and suppressed desires ... leaps in joyous freedom to the sky . " skyscraper museum director carol willis , and art consultant franck mercurio , curator at the field museum in chicago , offer moderating modern views about the influence of saarinen 's design . willis notes that setback architecture was being implemented in new york city highrises because of 1916 zoning ordinances related to building height and sunlight , and that saarinen 's design was understood to be an embodiment of this trend . mercurio points to the tribune tower competition entry from american architect bertram goodhue as having the same modernist features as saarinen 's , with dramatic setbacks but a more pronounced simplification of the exterior . mercurio argues that goodhue 's design is a better example of modernism because it has less ornamentation . goodhue 's entry gained him honorable mention but no cash award . buildings influenced the following buildings have been observed to be influenced by saarinen 's 1922 design .