Eero Saarinen, architect and furniture designer
The architect who redesigned the chair
Eero Saarinen (1910–1961) was a Finnish-American architect, sculptor and furniture designer, and one of the defining figures of twentieth-century modernism. Born in Kirkkonummi, Finland, he moved to the United States as a child with his father, the architect Eliel Saarinen, who went on to lead Michigan's Cranbrook Academy of Art.
Eero studied sculpture in Paris before enrolling in Yale's architecture programme. It was at Cranbrook, though, that the two threads of his career — architecture and furniture — first tangled together, through a friendship with fellow students Charles Eames and Florence Schust, later Florence Knoll.
As an architect, Saarinen went on to design some of the most recognisable buildings of the modern era: the General Motors Technical Center, the TWA Flight Center at New York's JFK Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. He died in 1961, aged 51, during surgery for a brain tumour — before the TWA terminal was finished — and was awarded the AIA Gold Medal posthumously for the building. His furniture, designed in parallel with that architectural career, has stayed in production with Knoll ever since.
Designed to be curled up in
The Womb Chair began with an unusual brief. Florence Knoll, newly in charge of Knoll's furniture direction, asked Saarinen for "a chair that was like a basket full of pillows" — something she could curl up sideways into, not just sit in.
Saarinen's answer was a single reinforced fibreglass shell, generous enough to tuck your legs beneath you, upholstered and set on a slender polished chrome frame. It was one of the first chairs to use fibreglass-reinforced plastic for the whole seat shell rather than as a moulded accent, and it remains one of Knoll's most enduring designs — as much a piece of sculpture as a piece of furniture.
Clearing the "slum of legs"
By the mid-1950s, Saarinen had grown preoccupied with what he called the "ugly, confusing, unrestful world" created by chair and table legs — a room full of furniture is, structurally, a room full of legs. His solution was the Pedestal Collection: a single tapered aluminium base flaring into a moulded fibreglass seat or tabletop.
The result, best known today as the Tulip chair and table, resolved every piece down to one continuous line. It's this collection — not any single "Tulip chair" — that anchors Studio Italia's Saarinen dining range, from the chairs through to the oval dining table.
Five pieces, one line of thinking
Every piece below carries the same idea through a different room: one continuous form, no visible joinery, nothing extra.
Furniture that earned its place in design history
Saarinen's pieces belong to a small handful of true 20th-century icons — the kind of furniture that outgrew its own era instead of belonging to it. The Womb Chair and the Pedestal Collection weren't just successful when they launched; they solved a design problem no one else had properly asked, and they've stayed in continuous production, essentially unchanged, for more than seventy years. That kind of staying power is rare, and it's a big part of why we carry them.
That's also why we sell these as genuine Knoll production, not interpretations of the design. Every piece below ships from Knoll's own manufacturing, built to the original specification Saarinen and Knoll settled on together, not a third-party reading of it.
Questions we're asked about Saarinen's designs
Is the Womb Chair still made by the original manufacturer?
Yes. Knoll has manufactured the Womb Chair continuously since Eero Saarinen designed it for the company in 1948, and it remains part of Knoll's current collection today. The pieces on this page are genuine Knoll production, supplied through Studio Italia.
What's the difference between the Tulip chair and the Saarinen Executive or Conference chair?
They're from the same 1956 Pedestal Collection and share the same tapered aluminium base. The Tulip chair is the dining chair, sized and shaped for a dining table. The Executive (also sold as the Conference) chair is a larger, more upright armchair, designed for a desk, boardroom or occasional seating rather than dining.
Are these genuine Knoll pieces, or reproductions?
Genuine Knoll production. The Tulip and Womb designs in particular are widely reproduced by third parties at lower cost, but the pieces on this page are supplied through Knoll's own manufacturing, built to Saarinen's original specification.
How do I get pricing for a Saarinen piece?
Get in touch with our design team through the contact page, or visit the showroom — pricing depends on the specific piece, finish and any current availability.
Can I see these pieces in person in New Zealand?
Yes — a number of pieces from the Saarinen collection are on display in our showroom. It's worth checking ahead with our team for which pieces are currently on the floor before visiting.
Sources: Knoll — Designer: Eero Saarinen · Knoll — The Womb Chair at 75 Years · Dwell — The Story of the Tulip Chair
Talk to our design team
Whether it's a single Womb Chair or a full Saarinen dining setting, our team can help with pricing, finishes and availability.
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