Chair aluminium base. Leather or fabric seat cushion cm L48 P52 H83

Quality

Swivel chair with molded fiberglass shell of reinforced plastic. Base in cast aluminum with a rilsan finish. Removable seat cushion in polyurethane foam covered with leather. Made in Italy.

Iconic Design

The Tulip Chair was designed by Finnish designer Eero Saarinen in 1956 for the New York company Knoll. Originally created to match the dining table created by Saarinen, this chair is of a modern style, made with experimental materials in its day, such as fiberglass and aluminum. “I wanted to create […] a one-piece chair,” says Saarinen. This chair is designed so that the foot (aluminum) is gradually transformed into the seat (fiberglass). This creation shares an approach similar to some of the buildings in Saarinen where the architectural elements (columns, beams, vaults, awnings) are merged into a single unit (TWA terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport). This object is considered today as one of the key objects of industrial design. The Tulip Chair gained celebrity in popular culture when it was used in the science fiction series Star Trek (1966-1969).

Dimensions (W x D x H)

48 x 52 x 83 cm

Delivery time

3-4 weeks

Designer Eero Saarinen

Eero Saarinen was born in Kirkkonummi, Finland in 1910. He studied in Paris and at Yale University, after which he joined his father’s practice. Eero initially pursued sculpture as his art of choice. After a year in art school, he decided to become an architect instead. Much of his work shows a relation to sculpture. Saarinen developed a remarkable range which depended on color, form and materials. Saarinen showed a marked dependence on innovative structures and sculptural forms, but not at the cost of pragmatic considerations. He easily moved back and forth between the International Style and Expressionism, utilizing a vocabulary of curves and cantilevered forms. Saarinen died in Ann Arbour, Michigan in 1961.