Knoll Associates, manufacturer of Knoll Furniture was founded in 1938 by Florence Knoll and her husband Hans. The company has from then on started producing and manufacturing modernist furniture that is highly appreciated and in demand even today. This company provides its clients with high-quality office furniture – from vintage Knoll office chairs and sofas to various office and seating systems.
Over 75 years, Knoll Associates has teamed up with numerous leading architects and designers to be able to offer a versatile and creative collection of vintage and modern furniture, textiles, and accessories. Read on to find out more about the classic designers who made these distinct collections available to the lovers of vintage furniture.
Knoll Associates Company
The idea behind founding the company was to bring modern Bauhaus pieces to America. Running away from Germany, numerous architects and designers such as Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer found refuge in the USA. Here, the ideas started flourishing, making it possible for the specific American Movement to form.
Some of the classic Knoll designers, together with Florence Knoll, are Henry Bertoia, Warner Platner, Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, Richard Schultz, and Eero Saarinen. Their pieces, like Knoll international vintage chairs, are defying time and space, staying world-known and wanted despite the evolution of modern furniture.
- Florence Knoll’s Furniture
Just like many other associates and colleagues, Florence Knoll studied to be an architect, but that didn’t stop her to establish herself as a renowned furniture master and manufacturer. Her work embodies a combination of classic architectural designs and contemporary furniture solutions.
Although she studied under Eero Saarinen and Ludwing Mies Van der Rohe, and worked for Breuer and Gropius, she managed to fight for her place in the male-dominated field. It is said that she had an inborn feeling for the applied arts. Her holistic aesthetic approach in which all spheres of design – architecture, interior design, furniture, textiles, and graphics – worked in visual harmony is highly appreciated even today.
Her vintage Knoll sofa and settee remain current designing trends even today and their popularity has been growing steadily ever since the 1950s.
- Collection By Henry Bertoia
The artist Henry Bertoia was hired and commissioned by the Knoll Associates to design a few chairs back in the 1950s. His metalsmith and sculptor experience enabled him to design great, artful, yet functional pieces of furniture.
To be aware of what a genius Henry Bertoia was, here is what Brian Lutz once said about him: “Bertoia’s paintings were better than his sculptures. And his sculptures were better than his furniture. And his furniture was absolutely brilliant.
Leading modernist designers are more than familiar with Bertoia’s “Diamond Chairs”. They have a lattice-like metal part under a textile cover. He also designed the Bird chair and metal lattice indoor/outdoor chairs.
- Warner Platner’s Pieces
Warner Platner graduated in 1941 from Cornell University with a degree in architecture. He actively collaborated with world-known architects like Raymond, Loewy, and Saarinen before deciding to open his own architecture practice. His architectural contributions are great, some of which are located in New York and include the Georg Jensen Design Center and the Windows on the World restaurant in the World Trade Center.
Besides architectural achievements, Warner Platner was a talented interior designer as well. His furniture collection, also known as the Platner Collection, was introduced in 1966 and it included a set of tables and chairs.
The Platner Collection comprises thin, vertically oriented nickel-plated or bronzed rods that form specific bases that look like cages. To make them more comfortable, the seats and backs were upholstered. The whole style was generously accepted back in the 1960s, but its timelessness is still in high demand both in vintage and modern furniture spheres.
- Marcel Breuer Wassily Chair
Although most famous for his tubular furniture pieces, Marcel Breuer is equally praised for his outstanding architectural achievements as well. He was a Bauhaus student in the early 1920s and later a master carpenter here, which is why all his work embodies the main Bauhaus principle to reconcile industry and art.
Many people relate Marcel Breuer to the Model B3, known in the world as the Wassily Chair, and there is a reason for it. This iconic piece of Vintage Knoll Chairs was inspired by bike frames and made with the latest steel-technology. It got the nickname only after it was reproduced by Gavina, an Italian manufacturer.
- Van der Rohe’s Barcelona Chair
Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe is considered to be one of the most prominent people in the history of architecture. His minimalist approach to designing was a golden standard for many generations of modern architects. Although he started his career in his father’s stonemasonry business, he soon became a legend of architecture and design.
His style is characterized by open space furniture pieces, but his most famous piece is definitely the Barcelona Chair. First appeared in 1929 on the International Exposition held in Barcelona, the chair became known for its “less-is-more” design. Thanks to its enduring style, Knoll Associates still produce this beautiful piece.
- Outdoor Designs By Richard Schultz
The work of Richard Schultz represents an integral part of the Vintage Knoll furniture story. After finishing his mechanical engineering and design studies at Iowa State University, he became a part of Knoll in 1951. he received an award from the Industrial Design magazine for his 1960 Petal Table, the piece he’s famous for.
In collaboration with Florence Knoll and on her request, Richard Schultz started working on furniture that can perform well in salty, sunny, and wet climates. He prepared an aluminum collection, called the aluminum Leisure Collection in 1966. This set of outdoor pieces remains the standard for both vintage and modern outdoor furniture and is sold worldwide.
- Contemporary Designs by Eero Saarinen
Being born to famous parents who dealt with architecture and textile, Eero Saarinen grew up surrounded by design. His long-lasting friendship with Florence Schust, later known as Florence Knoll, provided him a place in the Knoll company from the 1940s.
He is mostly known for his contributions to architecture, but his renowned accomplishment is definitely the St. Lois Arch. Together with Charles Eames, he developed the Organic Chair that won the first prize in the Organic Home Design Furnishings in 1940.
Besides this, his work for Knoll Associates included the Womb Chair – a chair of extremely sculptural feeling with a matching footstool, and the Tulip Collection – a set of chairs and tables with pedestal bases. All these pieces remain popular in the world of both vintage and modern furniture. If you’re interested in some of all of the pieces mentioned here, Clima BRANDS are here to provide you with whatever you might need. We offer a wide array of furniture pieces by the featured designers, so your task would only be to choose the piece and the color. Don’t wait any longer and contact us today so you can complete your vintage or contemporary collection with a designer piece such as a Knoll sofa vintage or a Knoll office chair. For more information, call us today.