Somewhere, Eero Saarinen is smiling.
If he were alive today, the towering figure of midcentury architecture and furniture design would be thrilled by his namesake, the eero – a gleaming white, beautifully curved 4.75 inch square with a 1.26 inch high domed top – Wi-Fi router.
As an industrial product the eero looks perfect in every way, even if at first glance, the device seems to be just another example of the current fad to make gadgets mimicking the iPod’s signature look. Call it Apple chic. However, that’s not the case here, no. Eero, a San Francisco based start-up and maker of the eero router, instead has created a singular object that rises above those from Apple and its imitators.
As a design category, the Wi-Fi router has long been ripe for disruption. Consider the usual device: a rectangular block of black, silver or blue plastic (sometimes even all three colors, yuck!), with a row of yellow or green blinking lights, winged with a pair of stubby antennas and tethered to a boxy, black power supply cum plug that invariably dangles from your outlet with as much grace as an elephant in figure skates.
Above: “Industrial designer Fred Bould pored over every detail so the product would coalesce with modern interiors.”
Image Credit: Dwell, Vol. 15 Issue 07.
In the hands of eero’s co-founders, Nate Hardison, Amos Schallich, and Nick Weaver, however, the humble router is transformed into an object of desire. “If you look at the top, we made this really nice glossy finish. It reflects light nicely,” said Weaver, the company’s CEO. “However, on the sides we put this matte finish, which absorbs the color of the surface it’s on, and adds some more warmth to the device. However, we didn’t stop there, even our power supply — most companies ship like a big black brick. Ours actually follows the exact same proportions … same finishes, the glossy top, matte sides. We really focused on every little detail and designed everything from scratch.”
The co-founders’ pursuit of perfection is backed by the creative genius of advisor Jon “the podfather” Rubenstein of Apple and Palm fame, and by Fred Bould, whose design credits include Nest, GoPro and Roku.
In several ways, the eero conforms to the dictates of design heavyweight John Maeda. In his Laws of Simplicity, Maeda addressed the paradox of how the things we want to be the most simple to use are those that are often the most complex, and fulfill the most complicated need. (Maeda penned this slim volume in 2006 just as the Apple iPod was taking off.) His first law is “Reduce,” which he summarizes: “The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction.” It’s a rule lost on the manufacturers of the blinking, rabbit-ear-wearing Wi-Fi router common to most homes.
For all its simplicity, the eero also screams practicality. According to Weaver, the router’s domed top serves two purposes. It’s coated with a beautiful sheen to reflect light,” said Weaver, “and its curved top keeps it from being used as a drink coaster.”
Above: Designed by Eero Saarinen, the TWA Flight Center opened in 1962 at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Image Credit: Mimoa
Saarinen, of course, is famous for emboldening design with breathtaking, soaring curves, whether in the architecture of the TWA Flight Center at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport and the St. Louis Arch, or in the creation of eponymous furniture like the Womb Chair and his gravity-defying,oval, marble Dining Tables. However, Weaver also has a personal connection to the famous designer.
Eero’s CEO explained that Saarinen helped design the elementary school he attended, Crow Island Elementary School, outside Chicago. “I always wanted to name our company after him,” Weaver said. The building is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and obviously made a lasting impression on the young boy. And if you happen to purchase one of these wonder devices, you’ll be glad Eero Saarinen did.
For more coverage of the eero router, read the VentureBeat Review: “Eero drastically improved my home Wi-Fi in about 10 minutes.”