Tulip Chair: The shape of Modernity
A thin stem paired with an essential yet ergonomic shape - a perfect representation of modern style. In 1957, the Finnish architect Eero Saarinen designs for Knoll a chair that takes its name from an instantly recognizable flower: Tulip. Its line recalls that of a wineglass and is composed of two parts: a pedestal support and base in cast aluminium with Rilsan-coated finish and a shell in moulded fibreglass, reinforced with plastic bonded finish.
Designing a chair was a challenging task for contemporary architects, for their aesthetical and structural aspects. Saarinen’s main objective was to get rid of the legs, that he defined an “ugly world, confused, restless."So he started working on hundreds of drawings and then scale models.
He wanted to design items that looked good in an environment, so he built up a scale model room the size of a doll house, too. Leveraging his sculpting skills, he modified the models with clay to reach an organic shape. With the help of a Knoll design research team, full scale models became furniture to test in the dining room and living room of the Saarinen house in Bloomfield Hills.
The revolutionary Pedestal collection debuted in 1958 and includes tables, an armchair and an armless chair, with swivel or fixed base, and a stool. The first in the history of design to be equipped with a single support.
Tulip: a landmark in modern design that has won three international awards and got a role in the first Star Trek set for its look, futuristic at that time, far-sighted today.
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