Sculptural Structures

Eero Saarinen’s new dimensions

The creator of the ubiquitous

Knoll “Tulip” chairs and tables

,

Eero Saarinen

(1910–1961) was one of the

20th century’s most prominent space shapers

, merging dynamic forms with a modernist sensibility across architecture and design.

Among Saarinen’s greatest accomplishments are

Washington D.C.’s Dulles International Airport

, the very sculptural and fluid

TWA terminal at JFK Airport

in New York, and the 630 ft. (192 m) high

Gateway Arch of St. Louis

, Missouri, each of them defining structures of postwar America. Catenary curves were present in many of his structural designs. During his long association with Knoll, Saarinen’s other

famous furniture pieces

included the “Grasshopper” lounge chair and the “Womb” settee. Married to Aline Bernstein Saarinen, a well-known critic of art and architecture, Saarinen also collaborated with Charles Eames, with whom he designed his first prize-winning chair.

With rich illustration tracing his life and career, this architecture introduction follows Saarinen from his studies to training to his most prestigious projects, and explores how each of his designs brought a

new dimension to the modernist landscape

.