Eero Saarinen Tulip Chair

Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen's primary intention when designing his last furniture series for Knoll International was to simplify and clarify structure. He declared: "The undercarriage of chairs and tables in a typical interior makes an ugly, confusing, unrestful world. I wanted to clear up the slum of legs. I wanted to make the chair all one thing again." He was also fascinated by new materials emerging in the 1950s: "What interests me is when and where to use these structural plastic shapes. Probing more deeply into different possibilities, one finds many different shapes are equally logical - some ugly, some exciting, some earth-bound, some soaring. The choices really become a sculptor's choice." Thus the Tulip chair - and by extension, Saarinen's eponymous tables which the chairs complement - became a synthesis of perfect proportions, organic shapes and graceful curved lines.

Whilst Saarinen had originally hoped to make the chair from a single piece of fibreglass, the slender stem was not able to support the seat. The seat shell is therefore fibreglass, attached to a cast aluminium stem and base coated with a tough Rilsan resin finish. Serendipity therefore provided the opportunity to add a swivelling mechanism to the chair.

Until 31 October 2017, we are offering the Tulip Side chair with upholstered seat cushion at the very special price of £999 when you order a minimum of four chairs, which represents a discount of up to 30% depending on the finish. Additionally, you can buy four of the Tulip Arm Chairs with upholstered seat pad for the price of three. Both offers are for the swivel option, in black or white shell finish with cushion fabrics up to and including category 'S'. There is a very wide range of colours and textures of fabric available - please contact the store for those not shown online.