Eero Saarinen Collection

​Eero Saarinen, born to artist parents in Kirkonummi, Finland, moved with his family to Michigan when he was thirteen, so that his father (Eliel Saarinen) could create the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Naturally, Eero attended the Cranbrook Academy, studying sculpture and architecture. Saarinen is most famous for designing several colleges at Yale University, the TWA Flight Centre at JFK Airport, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, and The Kresge Theatre at MIT. His crowning achievement as an architect was by far the Ingalls Rink Arena at Yale University, nicknamed “the whale” for its unique shape.

Saarinen is now considered a master of 20th-century architecture, and received the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 1962. Saarinen was the first architect in the U.S. to use the Rubble Aggregate building method, which Thom used as a model for the Symons’ Campus original buildings, setting a precedent for Canadian use. His Pedestal Collection was used to furnish Lady Eaton College in early 1968.

The “Tulip Side Chair”

Year First Produced: 1958

The “Tulip Armchair”

Aligned with modern ideals, Saarinen’s Tulip Armchairs resided in the Lady Eaton Pit, but were sold at a garage sale in the 1980’s at junk sale prices as a fundraiser for Lady Eaton.

The “Tulip Coffee Table” 

The tulip coffee table was part of Saarinen’s Pedestal Collection, aimed at avoiding what Saarinen called a “slum of legs” underneath other typical tables of the time. These tables were lightweight and durable, and fit with the modern style of the rest of his collections.

Year First Produced: 1952

The “Tulip Side Table”

As a part of the Pedestal Collection, the tulip side table rounded out the group, matching with the decor of the surrounding furniture.

Year First Produced: 1958