The creator of the ubiquitousKnoll “Tulip” chairs and tables,Eero Saarinen(1910–1961) was one of the20th century’s most prominent space shapers, merging dynamic forms with a modernist sensibility across architecture and design.
Among Saarinen’s greatest accomplishments areWashington D.C.’s Dulles International Airport, the very sculptural and fluidTWA terminal at JFK Airportin New York, and the 630 ft. (192 m) highGateway Arch of St. Louis, Missouri, each of them defining structures of postwar America. Catenary curves were present in many of his structural designs. During his long association with Knoll, Saarinen’s otherfamous furniture piecesincluded the “Grasshopper” lounge chair and the “Womb” settee. Married to Aline Bernstein Saarinen, a well-known critic of art and architecture, Saarinen also collaborated with Charles Eames, with whom he designed his first prize-winning chair.
With rich illustration tracing his life and career, this introduction follows Saarinen from his studies across his training all the way to his most prestigious projects, and explores how each of his designs brought anew dimension to the modernist landscape.
