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    Womb Chair

    Eero Saarinen  1948

    Eero Saarinen 1948

    Eero Saarinen designed the groundbreaking Womb Chair at Florence Knoll’s request for “a chair that was like a basket full of pillows…something I could really curl up in.” The fiberglass design supported multiple sitting postures and provided a comforting sense of security — hence the name.

    The Womb Chair at 75 Years

    The Womb Chair was released in 1948 as a liberating counterpoint to the rigid Victorian-style chairs available at the time. Said Florence Knoll, “I told Eero I wanted a chair I could sit in sideways or any other way I want.” The resulting design and its enveloping comfort were immediately popular and have remained so for 75 years.
    Womb 75th Anniversary

    Made to last for generations

    Skilled craftspeople make every Womb Chair by hand, start to finish—from molding the shell to carefully hand-sewing the customer’s selected upholstery.

    Dimensions

    Additional Info

    Construction and Details
    • Available in wide range of KnollTextiles and Spinneybeck® leathers
    • Seat shell is foam-covered molded fiberglass
    • Steel legs are seamless tubular steel with polished chrome plating, polished 18k gold plating or black paint
    Sustainable Design and Environmental Certification
    • Learn more about Womb™ Chair product certifications and materials at Ecomedes.

    Configure Womb Chair

    The configurator below is for reference purposes only. All options, finishes and sizes may not be represented.
    For the complete scope, please refer to the KnollStudio price list.


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    After winning the Museum of Modern Art Organic Design Competition with Charles Eames for their experiments with bent plywood in 1941, Eero Saarinen was eager to continue exploring the possibilities of a chair that achieved comfort through the shape of its shell, not the depth of its cushioning. Initially, he began the investigation with designs for smaller fiberglass task chairs, but changed direction when Florence Knoll approached him and asked, “Why not take the bull by the horns and do the big one first? I want a chair that is like a basket full of pillows…something I can curl up in.” While that’s not exactly where Saarinen ended up, the suggestion inspired one of the most iconic, and comfortable, chairs of the modern furniture movement.

    Like many of Saarinen’s furniture designs, the Womb Chair required production techniques and materials still in the infancy of their existence. Saarinen and Florence Knoll found a boat builder in New Jersey who was experimenting with fiberglass and resin to help develop manufacturing methods for the new chair. Florence Knoll: “He was very skeptical. We just begged him. I guess we were so young and so enthusiastic he finally gave in and worked with us. We had lots of problems and failures until they finally got a chair that would work.”

    Born to world famous architect and Cranbrook Academy of Art Director Eliel Saarinen and textile artist Loja Saarinen, Eero Saarinen was surrounded by design his whole life. By the time he was in his teens, Eero was helping his father design furniture and fixtures for the Cranbrook campus. After studying sculpture in Paris and architecture at Yale, Saarinen returned to Cranbrook in 1934.

    It was at Cranbrook that Saarinen met Charles Eames. The two young men, both committed to exploring new materials and processes, quickly became great friends and creative collaborators. They worked together on several projects, most notably their groundbreaking collection of molded plywood chairs for 1940 competition Organic Design in Home Furnishings, sponsored by MoMA.

    At Cranbrook, Saarinen also met Florence Knoll, who at that time was a promising young protégé of Eliel Saarinen. When Florence joined Knoll in the 1940s, she invited Eero to design for the company. Saarinen went on to design many of Knoll's most recognizable pieces, including the Tulip chairs and tables, the Womb chair, and the 70 Series of seating. In addition to these achievements, Saarinen became a leader of the second-generation modernists. Among his outstanding projects are the Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, and New York's CBS Building and TWA Terminal at Kennedy International Airport.