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Tulip Armless Chair
Iconic Designs

Tulip Armless Chair By Eero Saarinen

About the Design

With his iconic Pedestal collection, architect and designer Eero Saarinen (1910–61) vowed to “clear up the slum of legs,” as he described the visual clutter resulting from traditional furniture frames in a 1956 TIME magazine cover story. Central to this endeavor is the Pedestal table, whose round top on a slender, graceful pedestal would become a near ubiquitous — and oft-imitated — form. The Tulip armchair and the Tulip armless chair continue this streamlining in Saarinen’s modern, space-age aesthetic.

With its simplified silhouette and fiberglass body, the Tulip armless chair is at once elegant and industrial, a feat that Saarinen continually mastered in mid-century modern works ranging from furniture to architecture (think the St. Louis Arch and the TWA Terminal at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, which has reopened as a hotel). The designer originally tried to cast the entire seat in fiberglass, pushing the envelope of modern furniture production, but, to ensure stability, he eventually settled on a cast-aluminum base and fiberglass seat. In 1957, the chair was put into production through Knoll — Saarinen knew pioneering American designer Florence Knoll from his days at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, where he taught and took on design projects for the school. It has remained one of the legendary firm’s most popular seats ever since.

Given its sculptural shape, the Tulip armless chair can be paired with a Saarinen table for a wholly modern dining set — as it appears throughout the TWA Hotel — or hold its own as a side or accent chair, a popular touch by top residential designers today. The Velcro-attached seat cushion is available in over a dozen upholstery options, though the thoroughly space-age cherry red is undoubtedly the most famous.

Tulip Armless Chair

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Set of three chairs model «Tulip» By Eero Saarinen and manufactured by Knoll.
By Eero Saarinen
Located in ALHAURÍN EL GRANDE, ES
Given price is for the set of three. A fourth chair can be added. It belongs to the same set. Ask for price for a set of four if interested. Set of three chairs model «Tulip» Manuf...
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Set of 6 Tulip Chairs by Eero Saarinen produced by Knoll International ca. 1970
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Set of 6 tulip swiveling dining chairs by Eero Saarinen and produced by Knoll International ca. 1970s Original red wool cushions invery good condition. Manufacturer label under the c...
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