Designed by Florence Knoll
Designed in 1954 as what Florence Knoll modestly referred to as one of the fill-in pieces that no one else wants to do, the Florence Knoll Sofa Collection now stands as a defining example of modern design. Consistent with all of her designs, the Lounge Collection has a spare, geometric profile that reflects the objective perfectionism and rational design approach Florence Knoll learned from her mentor, Mies van der Rohe.
Product story
As head of the Knoll Planning unit, Florence Knoll always approached furniture design with the larger space in mind. Most important to her was how a piece fit into the greater design the room, the floor, the building. Every element of a Knoll-planned space supported the overall design and complemented the existing architecture.
Never one to compromise, Florence would often design furniture when she, needed the piece of furniture for a job and it wasnt there. And while she never regarded herself as a furniture designer, her quest for harmony of space and consistency of design led her to design several of Knolls most iconic piecesall simple, none plain.
As skyscrapers rose up across America during the post-war boom, Florence Knoll saw it as her job to translate the vocabulary and rationale of the modern exterior to the interior space of the corporate office. Thus, unlike Saarinen and Bertoia, her designs were architectural in foundation, not sculptural. She scaled down the rhythm and details of modern architecture while humanizing them through color and texture. Her lounge collection, designed in 1954, is a perfect example of her restrained, geometric approach to furniture, clearly derived from her favorite mentor, Mies van der Rohe.
Florence Knoll
After demonstrating an early interest in architecture,0Florence Schust was enrolled at the Kingswood School for Girls, adjacent to the Cranbrook Academy of Art. There she met Eilel Saarinen, andwent on to studyunder some of the greatest 20th century architects, including Gropius, Breuer, and Mies van der Rohe.
With Florences design skills and her husband Hans business acumen and salesmanship, the pair grew Knollinto an international arbiter of style and design. In creating the revolutionary Knoll Planning Unit, Florence Knoll defined the standard for the modern corporate interiors of post-war America.
Additional Info
Construction and Details
- Available as 3 seat sofa or 2 seat settee
- Available in a range of KnollTextiles and Spinneybeck leathers
- Exposed metal frame and legs in heavy gauge steel with polished or satin chrome finish
- Inner frame is solid wood
- Seat suspension with No-Sag springs
- KnollStudio logo and Florence Knolls signature are stamped into the base frame
Last Updated 10 months
