The Wall Street Journal Features Womb Chair in Interview with Deborah Berke

Deborah Berke, the architect and newly appointed dean of the School of Architecture at Yale University, named the Womb Chair as her "go-to seating" in an interview by The Wall Street Journal published on July 14, 2016. 

Berke is founder and principal of Deborah Berke Partners, a critically acclaimed and award-winning architecture firm based in New York City. This month, she became the dean of architecture at Yale, where she has also taught since 1987. She succeeds Robert A. M. Stern, who held the position for 18 years, and is the first woman to lead the school.  

On the occassion of her new position, and the publication of her third book House Rules: An  Architect's Guide to Modern Life, The Wall Street Journal interviewed Berke at her Upper East Side residence. Asked about her go-to seating, the designer replied: "Eero Saarinen's Womb Chair—so comfortable. I have one with the original orange upholstery."

Saarinen, also an architect, designed the Womb Chair for Knoll in 1948. Florence Knoll famously instructed him: "I want a chair that is like a basket full of pillows...something I can curl up in." The popular and highly influential chair utilized new production techniques and materials that were, at the time, still their infancy. 

A portrait of Berke seated in the orange Womb Chair accompanies the piece. Weston Wells provided photography for The Wall Street Journal.

 

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