As a pioneer of the Knoll Planning Unit, Florence Knoll created what she modestly referred to as the “fill-in pieces that no one else wants to do.” She referred to her own line of lounge seating as the equivalent of “meat and potatoes,” adding, “I needed the piece of furniture for a job and it wasn’t there, so I designed it.”
Like so many of her groundbreaking designs that set the industry’s gold standard, the 1954 Lounge collection is a design classic that has inspired countless imitations over the years.
Knoll says: “Considered to be the Ferrari of furniture, The Florence Knoll Sofa is the ultimate statement piece. It is the epitome of good taste and design; exuding style and power.
“Like the rest of Florence Knoll’s groundbreaking designs, her sofa was inspired by the Bauhaus approach and reflects the objective perfectionism of modern design in the early 1960s. A timeless classic, Florence Knoll’s elegantly crafted seating can be passed on for generations without looking dated.”
Knoll was founded in 1938 by Hans G. Knoll, a German immigrant to the US. During WWII, Hans Knoll hired a young space planner and designer named Florence Schust. Florence had a degree from the Cranbrook Academy in Michigan as well as an architecture degree from the Architectural Association in London. She had also studied with Mies van der Rohe, according to The Couch Potato Company, which has visited the factory and the Company’s headquarters and has been Knoll stockists since 2004.
Hans and Florence were married in 1946, and they formed Knoll Associates. “Florence played a critical role in the development and direction of the company and together Hans and Florence searched for and nurtured talented designers; they believed strongly that designers should be credited by name and paid royalties for their work, a tradition which continues at Knoll today,” says the site.
Indeed it was Florence who brought Harry Bertoia to Knoll telling him simply: “Do what you do”.
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