Designed by Eero Saarinen, 1957
With the Pedestal Collection, Eero Saarinen has solved the “ugly, disordered world of legs” under tables and chairs. This collection defines modern design and is a timeless piece of furniture in any interior – an undisputed classic.
From the late 1940s to the 1950s, Eero Saarinen designed many of Knoll’s most recognizable classics, including Tulip Chairs and Pedestal Tables, Womb Chair and the 70 Series Executive Seating Collection. At the very beginning, Knoll created the brand identity in a noble and sublime way through modern materials used in Saarin’s designs.
A characteristic element of the table is its single, cast aluminum leg.The collection of Saarinen tables includes three types of products: dinner tables with a round and oval top, coffee tables and occasional tables with a round top, as well as garden tables also in two versions of the top shape. This series includes many noble top finishes such as stone, veneer, glass, slate and laminate, there are also three variants of the table base finish and a wide range of dimensions.
Details
FEATURES
Eero Saarinen’s pedestal collection includes dining, coffee and side tables.
The Knoll logo is located on the underside of the base. A nameplate with the KnollStudio logo and the signature of Eero Saarinen is also located on the underside of the top or on the top support plate.
CONSTRUCTION
Top: Bevel-edged satin smooth laminate, lacquer, acrylic stone, marble or veneer.
Marble coated with transparent polyester to avoid useassociated stains.
Acrylic Stone is a solid surface material made of aluminium hydroxide, acrylic resin and natural pigments. The aluminium hydroxide gives the product a particular strength, the quality of the acrylic resin ensures cleanliness suitability for contact with food, water resistance and colour stability over time.
Base: Original Saarinen design. Heavy moulded cast aluminium. Black and white bases are protected with Rilsan.
FINISHES
Tables are available in white laminate, coated marble in a wide range of colours and veneer. Top in acrylic stone for outdoor use.
Base finish is available in black and white.
Dimensions
SAARINEN TULIP HIGH TABLES
ROUND DINING TABLES
Small Round 91(w) cm x 72(h) cm / 3-4 seat
Medium Round 107(w) cm x 72(h) cm / 4 seat
Medium Round 120(w) cm x 72(h) cm / 4-5 seat
Large Round 137(w) cm x 72(h) cm / 4-6 seat
Large Round 152(w) cm x 72(h) cm / 6-8 seat
OVAL DINING TABLES
Saarinen Table – 198cm Oval 198(w) cm x 121(d) cm x 73(h) cm
Saarinen Table – 244cm Oval 244(w) cm x 137(d) cm x 73(h) cm
Height may vary of one cm whether the top is laminate, veneer or lacquer, marble and acrylic.
Product Story
With the Pedestal Collection, Eero Saarinen vowed to eliminate the “slum of legs” found under chairs and tables with four legs. He worked first with hundreds of drawings, which were followed by ¼ scale models. Since the compelling idea was to design chairs that looked good in a room, the model furniture was set up in a scaled model room the size of a doll house.
Drawing on his early training as a sculptor, Saarinen refined his design through full scale models, endlessly modifying the shape with clay. “What interests me is when and where to use these structural plastic shapes. Probing even more deeply into different possibilities one finds many different shapes are equally logical—some ugly, some exciting, some earthbound, some soaring. The choices really become a sculptor’s choice.”
Saarinen was assisted by Don Petitt, of Knoll’s Design Development Group, who introduced several ingenious methods of model making. Together with a Knoll design research team, they worked out the problems arising in production. Full scale models became furniture and, with family and friends acting as “guinea pigs,” the furniture was tested in the dining room and living room of the Saarinen house in Bloomfield Hills.
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