Eero Saarinen

Eero Saarinen is an American architect and designer of Finnish origin born August 20, 1910 in Kirkkonummi and died September 1, 1961 in Ann Arbor. Son of Eliel Saarinen, a renowned Finnish architect, he emigrated with his family when he was a teenager. Eero Saarinen met Charles Eames there. These two enthusiasts of new materials and new processes became friends, and together designed a series of molded plywood furniture.In 1940 with Charles Eames, they participated in the “Organic Design in Home Furnishings” competition at MoMA in New York. In Cranbrook, Eero Saarinen also met Florence Knoll. It was she who invited him to design furniture for Knoll International. Some of his pieces became design bestsellers of the 1950s, such as the Tulip chair (see also the Conference chair, the Womb chair or the Tulip table and its marble top). Structural curves and concern for practical and visual unity; his demanding style is reflected in each of his projects. Eero Saarinen, leader of second-generation Modernism, died of a brain tumor in 1961.