The Saarinen Tulip seating collection consists of an armchair and an armless chair, with swivel or fixed base.

The chairs are available with either an upholstered seat cushion, or fully upholstered inner shell with seat cushion. The swivel stool with an upholstered cushion completes the collection. The KnollStudio logo and the signature of Eero Saarinen are located on the underside of the base.ConstructionBase consists of cast aluminium with Rilsan coated finish for the white and black versions. The Platinum base has a polyurethane coat with transparent finish.

The shell is moulded fibreglass reinforced plastic bonded finish.

The shell and base are available in black, white or platinum colours. Fully upholstered inner shell with seat cushion available in a wide range of fabrics.

Stool and chairs with seat cushion only are available in a wide range of fabrics and Spinneybeck leather. This product is available with foam that meets requirements for BS5852.

Awards: The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1969 Federal Award for Industrial Design, Germany, 1969 Design Career Stuttgart Award, Germany, 1962

Eero Saarinen

Son of the celebrated architect Eliel Saarinen, Eero was classically trained in sculpture and architecture. His collaboration with Charles Eames in 1937 led to the creation of the Organic Armchair.

Made from plywood and foam rubber, it was the first three-dimensional shaped bucket armchair. Saarinen continued to develop this theme in the following years with designs that included the Grasshopper, Womb and Tulip chairs, all for Knoll. Among the many buildings for which he is known are Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., and the TWA terminal at Kennedy International Airport in New York.

• tulip-chair-catalogue.pdf (564.35 Kb)