Eero Saarinen 'Tulip' Armchairs and Centro Progetti Tecno Round Table
About the Item
- Creator:
- Design:Tulip Arm ChairSaarinen Pedestal Series
- Dimensions:Height: 31.89 in (81 cm)Width: 26.38 in (67 cm)Depth: 23.23 in (59 cm)Seat Height: 18.12 in (46 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 7
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Every item Morentz offers is checked by our team of 30 craftspeople in our in-house workshop. Special restoration or reupholstery requests can be done. Check ‘About the item’ or ask our design specialists for detailed information on the condition.
- Seller Location:Waalwijk, NL
- Reference Number:
Tulip Armchair
Eero Saarinen (1910–61) absolutely hated clutter. "The undercarriage of chairs and tables in a typical interior makes an ugly, confusing, unrestful world,” the Finnish-American architect and industrial designer once said. “I wanted to clear up the slum of legs.” With the original Tulip armchair, he did just that, streamlining the standard four-legged piece into a graceful shape atop a single pedestal.
The 1957 design — which is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York — was one of Saarinen’s last; he died in 1961. Its sculptural shape displays the best of Saarinen, who referred to himself as a “form giver,” whether that form was a flower-shaped seat or the swooping curve of the Gateway Arch, a more than 600-foot-tall stainless-steel-clad concrete monument in St. Louis, Missouri, that he designed in the late 1940s.
The Tulip armchair was part of Saarinen’s Pedestal collection of armless chairs, stools, dining tables and more — a mid-century modernist exercise in simplifying. The series was designed for Knoll, which continues to produce it today. Visitors to the TWA Hotel, the 2019 reinvention of Saarinen’s iconic airport terminal, will find Tulip chairs dotting the structure.
Interestingly, the Tulip armchair’s shape suggests one single plastic form, but despite Saarinen’s many experiments to achieve this, it is actually constructed in two pieces: an aluminum frame obscured in a plastic finish and a fiberglass upper-shell seat. Two parts or one, it achieves Saarinen’s desired streamlined effect.
Tecno
Eugenio Gerli (b. 1923) is an Italian architect and industrial designer known for his long-lasting collaboration with the Italian architect-designer Osvaldo Borsani and the Italian manufacturer Tecno. In 1949, Gerli graduated with a degree in engineering and began his career a year later, opening his own architectural and industrial design practice. Architecturally, the firm focused on residential and public buildings, as well as the renovation of historic Italian buildings. Notable architectural projects include the Cardiology Clinic in Laveno-Mombello (1950), the Ambasciatori Theater in Milan (1954), the renovation and restoration of the Castiglioni Palace (1903). Gerli was joined by his two sons, Enrico and Guido, in the 1970s. In 1957, Gerli began a long and fruitful collaboration with the Borsani brothers, Fulgenzio and Osvaldo Borsani (1911–85), founders of the Italian furniture manufacturing company Tecno. In 1968, Gerli and Osvaldo Borsani exhibited their revolutionary Graphis Office System (1967) at the 14th Triennale di Milano. The system, which was made up of just three basic elements, was heralded as a revolution in office furniture design because the system’s modular components allowed unlimited and customizable combinations, which could grow (or contract) with the company. The system remained a bestseller for decades, and Tecno became synonymous for technologically-advanced design. The partnership between Gerli and Tecno lasted for more than 35 years. During the 1970s, Tecno launched its Centro Progetti Tecno (CPT), an in-house team dedicated to communications and industrial design work. The team, which included Gerli, Valeria Borsani, Kugo Toru, Borsani and his son Marco, became a driving force of technologically advanced ideas in design. Although Borsani remained in charge, the purpose of the department was to present future designs as group creations. The CPT was responsible for a number of the company’s successes, including the molded plastic Modus Office Chair (1972), which won the SMAU Prize in 1973; the steel mesh Waiting System (1983), a modular seating and table concept for large public spaces; and the rebranding of Alitalia worldwide (1982–84), for which Centro Progetti Tecno was awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 1984. Although Gerli's career as an architect-designer was prolific, his work is often overshadowed by his contemporaries and the legacy of his long-term partner, Osvaldo Borsani.
Established in 2006, Morentz has a team of approximately 55 restorers, upholsterers, interior advisers and art historians, making it a gallery, workshop and upholstery studio, all in one. Every day, a carefully selected array of 20th-century furniture arrives from all over the world at the firm’s warehouse, where the team thoroughly examines each piece to determine what, if any, work needs to be done. Whether that means new upholstery or a complete restoration, Morentz's aim is always to honor the designer’s intention while fulfilling the wishes of the client. The team is up to any challenge, from restoring a single piece to its original glory to furnishing a large-scale hotel project.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Waalwijk, Netherlands
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 10 days of delivery.
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