International Style: Eero Saarinen

For Group Work we had to carry out a visual presentation about a chosen topic from the units we studied in class. Our group chose The International Style and my part was to research and discuss Eero Saarinen's works.

Eero Saarinen, together with Charles Eames, started by creating the Organic Armchair, in 1940, for the Organically Shaped Furniture competition for MoMA. 

Saarinen then created the 61U better known as the Grasshopper Chair and Stool which is reminiscent to Alvar Aalto’s Paimio Chair of 1931.

Later he then developed the Organic Armchair design to create the Womb Chair in 1947-1948. It was still following the features of the previous chair but he had improved both the looks as well as comfort. It also offers a sense of security therefore one is more relaxed when sitting in this chair.  He created a chair that provides a variety of informal ways for the body to occupy it. This was Saarinen’s way to say “that modern furniture can indeed be comfortable and welcoming without losing its contemporary edge.” This is because “people sit differently today than in the Victorian Era.”   (Pierluigi Serraino. Eero Saarinen. Page 25)

Saarinen made further development in a series of furniture designs along his career and The Tulip Chair, 1956, is an example of an interrupted form to fulfil basic functions to the human body. He states that he “wanted to make the chair all one thing again”. It was something new to have a chair constructed as a whole piece let alone to have one support point instead of the traditional four legs. It has a central supporting stem “like a wine glass” which is kept uniform for both chair and table. This design was still considered as organic design but it was also approaching the Pop Art Design culture. The Tulip Chair was not entirely done from plastic; it was an equal combination of plastic and metal. Saarinen states that he is “looking forward to the point when the plastics industry will be capable of manufacturing the chair using just one material, the way I have designed it.”

When talking about International Style one cannot leave out the influence of architecture, and Saarinen is also famous for his architecture apart from his furniture designs.

Irwin Miller house 1953-1957 (left);   Falling Waters by Frank Lloyd Wright (right)

When comparing the two buildings they both consist of geometric forms but in the case of Wright's, it seems more organic due to the fact that it blends more to its surroundings since he used the same materials. In the case of Saarinen he introduced the white. Another similarity is that they both have spacious living rooms and they both have a particular feature. In the case of Falling Waters is the fireplace in the middle of the room, as for the Irwin Miller House it is the sunk-in sofa. This also enhances the spaciousness since there are fewer obstacles in the way. Both houses have large windows so that the occupant feels at one with nature and have more natural light into the house. To this regards the Irwin Miller House appears to be more lit since it has complete walls of glass and the white walls reflect more light.

Eero Saarinen. 1956. Vitra Design Museum: Tulip Chair. [online] Available at: http://www.design-museum.de/en/collection/100-masterpieces/detailseiten/tulip-chair-no-151-saarinen.html  [Accessed on 6^th January 2014]