Knoll (company)

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Knoll

Type	Public (NYSE: KNL)
Founded	1938
Founder(s)	Hans and Florence Knoll
Headquarters	East Greenville, PA, USA
Key people	Florence Knoll
Industry	Manufacturing
Products	Designer furniture
Website	www.knoll.com

Knoll is a design firm that produces office systems, seating, files and storage, tables and desks, textiles, and accessories for office and for the home. The company has been recognized as a worldwide design leader. The company also sells furniture for the home by top designers including Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Harry Bertoia, Florence Knoll (Florence Schust), Frank Gehry, Maya Lin and Eero Saarinen. From the beginning, Knoll produced furniture for the home as well as the office.

Contents 1 History 2 Sustainable design 3 Notable products 4 List of designers 5 Knoll and the design community 6 External links

[edit] History

The company was founded in New York City in 1938 by Hans Knoll. Production facilities were moved to Pennsylvania in 1940. After the death of Hans in 1955, his wife Florence Knoll took over as head of the company. The company is headquartered in East Greenville, Pennsylvania and has three other major manufacturing sites: Toronto, Grand Rapids, and Muskegon. In addition, the company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

[edit] Sustainable design

Knoll is a leader in practices designed to protect the biosphere, conserve natural resources, and reduce waste. Knoll has teamed up with certification organizations including the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute, The U.S. Green Building Council, The Forest Stewardship Council, and the International Organization for Standardization to commit to sustainability. Knoll was also the first contract furniture manufacturer to join Chicago Climate Exchange as a result of their nonpartisan participation in the Energy and Climate Change Group of the Clinton Global Initiative.

Many Knoll products are environmentally friendly, but the most well known is the Life Chair. The chair is rated Sustainable Gold under the SMaRT Standard, meaning it features minimal materials, recycled and recyclable content, and environmental fabric options.

[edit] Notable products

Many of the company's product are included in museum collections. [1]

• In 1956 the company commissioned Eero Saarinen to design the Tulip chair for production.
• In 1953 the company was accorded exclusive manufacturing and sales rights to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe furniture, including the Barcelona chair designed for the 1929 Barcelona Pavilion. [2]
• The company holds production rights to the Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer.
• In 1947 Knoll acquired exclusive U.S. production rights of the Hardoy chair ("Buttefly chair") by Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy. Cheaper imitations flooded the market. Knoll took legal action in 1950, in the end losing theír claim of copyright infringement; the model was dropped in 1951.

[edit] List of designers

Raul de Armas Tim van Campen Gerald Abramovitz Paul Aferiat Anni Albers Franco Albini Don Albinson Marc Alessandri Davis Allen Emilio Ambasz Sergio Asti Gae Aulenti Enrico Baleri Jhane Barnes Wolf Bauer Anne Beetz Hans Bellman Jeffrey Bernett Marc Berthier Harry Bertoia Ayse Birsel Cini Boeri Antonio Bonet Marcel Breuer Lewis Butler Vincent Cafiero Achille Castiglioni Pier Giacomo Castiglioni Don Chadwick Andreas Christen Colebrook Bosson Saunders Stephan Copeland Pepe Cortès Dorothy Cosonas Lise-Anne Couture Jonathan Crinion Joseph D’Urso Robert DeFuccio Niels Diffrient Peter Eisenman Jim Eldon Dale Fahnstrom Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy Formway Design Neil Frankel Enrico Franzolini Emanuela Frattini Magnusson

Gianfranco Frattini Dino Gavina Frank Gehry [3] Rudi Gernreich Alexander Girard Charles Gwathmey Paul Haigh Peter Hamburger Bruce Hannah Eszter Haraszty Christa Haussler Robert and Trix Haussmann Marc Held Sheila Hicks Evelyn Hill Hans Hollien Suzanne Huguenin Dragomir Ivièeviæ Arne Jacobsen Pierre Jeanneret Florence Knoll Bassett Donald R. Knorr Antti Kotilainen Robert Kulicke Lawrence Laske Gary Lee Angelo Lelii Marc Lepage Maya Lin Piero Lissoni Living Divani Josep Lluscà Ross Lovegrove Roberto Lucci Vico Magistretti Erik Magnussen Carl Magnusson Angelo Mangiorotti Marco Maran Roberto Sebastian Matta Herbert Matter Maxdesign Michael McCoy Richard Meier Lucia Mercer Clay Michie Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Abbott Miller Andrew Morrison Pascal Mourgue George Nakashima Isamu Noguchi Kurt Nordstrom Paolo Orlandini Lloyd Pearson Max Pearson Jorge Pensi Don Petitt Charles Pfister Piiroinen Warren Platner Charles Pollock James Prestini Adrian Pulfer and Parry Merkley Christine Rae Ralph Rapson Hani Rashid Jorgen Rasmussen Robert Reuter Carlos Riart Linda and Joseph Ricchio Jens Risom Charles Rozier Eero Saarinen Richard Sapper Tobia Scarpa Richard Schultz (designer) Mathias Seiler, (for Sedus Design) Robert Siegel Ettore Sottsass Peter Stamberg Bill Stephens Marianne Strengell Kazuhide Takahama Ilmari Tapiovaara [4] Ufficio Tecnico Suzanne Tick Nob and Non Utsumi Robert Venturi Massimo and Lella Vignelli Hans Wegner Gretl and Leo Wollner Otto Zapf 2x4, Inc.

(Source: [5])

[edit] Knoll and the design community

Knoll sponsors exhibitions, scholarships, and other activities related to modern architecture.

In 2006, Knoll and the World Monuments Fund, a New York-based non-profit organization, launched Modernism at Risk, an advocacy and conservation program. Modernism at Risk encourages innovative design solutions for imperiled Modern buildings, provides funding for conservation projects, and raises awareness of the threats to Modern architecture through exhibitions and lectures. The World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize is awarded biennially to a designer or design firm in recognition of projects that preserve Modern landmarks.

This year (2008), the first award was given to Winfried Brenne and Franz Jaschke of the firm Brenne Gesellschaft von Architekten. The colleagues received the Knoll Modernism Prize for their restoration of a school in Germany built in 1930. They were presented with the Prize at a dinner with over 70 attendees at the Knoll showroom in New York.

[edit] External links

• Knoll home page (official web site)
• Knoll International
• KNL

• World Monuments Fund Modernism at Risk
• Knoll Life chair review

This article needs references that appear in reliable third-party publications. Primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject are generally not sufficient for a Wikipedia article. Please add more appropriate citations from reliable sources. (January 2007)