Designer Spotlight | Florence Knoll
Designer, Modernist, Architect, Entrepreneur
Florence Knoll was born in 1917 in Michigan, United States. She studied at Cranbrook Academy of Art and graduated with a degree in architecture from the Chicago Armour Institute in 1941.
After moving to New York City, Knoll began working for various architectural companies, she later stated, ‘Being a woman, I was given interiors’, a decision that would permanently shape the world of industrial design. During this time Knoll championed the idea of ‘total design’ which was the marriage of furniture and architecture; each would influence the other to create modern spaces that were both functional and cohesive. Whilst working for New York architectural firm Harrison & Abramovitz she met her future husband, Hans Knoll.
In 1943 Florence joined the Hans G. Knoll Furniture Company, a small furniture manufacturer. Here she led the company to international recognition through her business acumen. Knoll was described as the eye of the company and was at the forefront of its style and business. She founded the Knoll Planning Unit, one of the first in-house interior design services that was used to showcase designs to clients, as well as Knoll Textiles which was a result of experimentation with upholstery textiles, opting for men's suit material instead of traditional fabrics and the invention of fabric swatches.
Knoll’s style is clean, geometric and considered, brought to life with the use of bright colours, textures and contrasting organic shapes. She invited many of her contemporaries to design furniture for the company and although she didn’t describe herself as a furniture designer she ‘filled in the missing pieces’ with her own designs if a space called for it, these accounted for almost half of the Knoll catalogue.
Image: Florence Knoll
