Saarinen, Eero (1910–1961)
Birthplace: Finland
Knoll Products: dining and low tables, executive chair,
executive side chair, Tulip chairs, Womb chair and Ottoman
Bio: The son of architect and Cranbrook
Academy of Art director Eliel Saarinen and his wife, textile
artist Loja, Eero Saarinen studied fine arts in Paris and
architecture at Yale before working on furniture design
with Norman Bel Geddes and practicing architecture with
his father in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He collaborated on several
projects, including a plywood leg splint for the U.S. Army,
with his friend, Cranbrook alumnus Charles Eames. He opened
his own practice in Ann Arbor in 1950. Among the many buildings
for which he is known are Dulles Airport in Washington,
D.C., The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri and the TWA
Terminal at Kennedy International Airport in New York. He
was the recipient of numerous awards and the subject of
many exhibitions.
WOMB CHAIR AND OTTOMAN:
Eero Saarinen's 1948 Womb chair, made exclusively for Knoll,
displays the Finnish-born designer's flair for challenging
rules, breaking molds and setting new standards for modern
design.
“When I approach an architectural problem,”
Eero Saarinen once said, “I try to think out the real
significance of it. What is its essence and how can the
total structure capture that essence?” Florence Knoll
had put forth the challenge of creating “a chair she
could curl up in.” The Finnish-born architect and
interior designer responded with the 1948 Womb chair, part
of his breakthrough seating collection. With its steel rod
base with a polished chrome finish and a frame upholstered
in fabric over a fiberglass shell, the chair is designed
to facilitate a relaxed sitting posture, providing emotional
comfort and a sense of security-hence, the name “Womb,”
now one of Knoll’s most recognized designs.
