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Knoll (previously Knoll Inc.; now a subsidiary brand of MillerKnoll, Inc.) is an American company that manufactures office systems, seating, storage systems, tables, desks, textiles, and accessories for the home, office, and higher education. The company is the licensed manufacturer of furniture designed by architects and designers such as Harry Bertoia, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich, Florence Knoll, Frank Gehry, Charles Gwathmey, Maya Lin, Marcel Breuer, Eero Saarinen, and Lella and Massimo Vignelli, under the company's KnollStudio division. Over 40 Knoll designs can be found in the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
* 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 ''(''"Butterfly chair"'')'' by . Cheaper imitations of the chair were also sold. Knoll took legal action in 1950, eventually losing its claim of copyright infringement; the model was dropped in 1951. In 2018, Knoll released a 100th anniversary tribute to the ''Butterfly Chair''.
Barcelona Chair Barcelona Pavilion.jpg, Barcelona Chair in situ at the reconstructed Barcelona Pavilion
Barcelona Ottoman Barcelona Pavilion.jpg, Barcelona Ottoman in situ at the reconstructed Barcelona Pavilion
Jens risom per knoll international inc., sedia bassa da sala (mode. 650), new york 1941.jpg, Model 650 designed by Jens Risom (1941)
Eero saarinen per knoll international inc., sedia womb (ventre, modello 70), new york 1947-48 (1959 ca.).jpg, Womb lounge chair by Eero Saarinen (1947–1948)
HKMS000005 km0037qv.jpg, Saarinen table (1957)
Diamond Chair - Harry Bertoia, MNAM.jpg, Diamond chair designed by Harry Bertoia
Harry bertoia per knoll international inc., sedia da bambino (mod. 426-2), new york 1950-52 (1953).jpg, Model 426-2 designed by Harry Bertoia (1953)
Tulip chair.jpg, The Tulip chair, designed for Knoll by Eero Saarinen (1956)
Eero Saarinen, "Pedestal" Armchair and Seat Cushion, Designed 1956.jpg, Pedestal armchair and Seat Cushion, designed by Eero Saarinen (1956)
Knoll Mandarin Chair Ettorre Sottsass - Austin Calhoon Photograph.jpg, Mandarin Chair designed by Ettore Sottsass
Robert venturi e denise scott brown per knoll international inc., sedia queen anne (in fantasia grandmother), new york 1984.jpg, Queen Anne chair (in fantasia grandmother) Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown (1984)
Frank gehry per knoll international inc., sedia high sticking, 1989-91.jpg, Frank Gehry high sticking, (1989–1991)
Global Furniture Group
* Haworth * Herman Miller (Knoll parent company since 2021) * Steelcase * Vitra (furniture)
Knoll International
World Monuments Fund / Knoll Modernism Prize 2008 brochure
(pdf) {{Authority control Industrial design firms Furniture companies of the United States Design companies of the United States Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Manufacturing companies based in Pennsylvania Companies based in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 1938 establishments in New York City American companies established in 1938 Manufacturing companies established in 1938 2021 mergers and acquisitions
History
The company was founded in New York City in 1938 by Hans Knoll. Production facilities were moved to Pennsylvania in 1950. 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 manufacturing sites in East Greenville, Grand Rapids, Muskegon, andToronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
in North America; it also manufactures products in Foligno and Graffignana in Italy.
In 2011, Knoll received the National Design Award for Corporate and Institutional Achievement from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
The acquisition of Knoll by Herman Miller was announced in April 2021 in a $1.8 billion deal. The merger closed in the third quarter of 2021. The merged company is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market and trades under the symbol MLKN.
In July 2021, the company was rebranded as MillerKnoll.
Notable designers
Designers who have worked for the company or whose designs are manufactured by Knoll include:
Significant products
Some of the company's products are included in museum collections, such as the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art. * In 1948, Eero Saarinen designed the womb chair. * In 1956, the company commissioned Eero Saarinen to design the Tulip chair for production. * Following the production of the tulip chair, the tulip table was designed by Saarinen. * In 1953, the company was accorded exclusive manufacturing and sales rights to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe furniture, including the Barcelona chair, which was designed in collaboration with Lilly Reich for the 1929 Barcelona Pavilion* 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 ''(''"Butterfly chair"'')'' by . Cheaper imitations of the chair were also sold. Knoll took legal action in 1950, eventually losing its claim of copyright infringement; the model was dropped in 1951. In 2018, Knoll released a 100th anniversary tribute to the ''Butterfly Chair''.
Gallery
Architecture preservation
Knoll sponsors exhibitions, scholarships, and other activities related to modernist architecture and design. 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 design solutions for at-risk modernist buildings, provides funding for conservation projects, and raises awareness of threats to Modernist architecture through exhibitions and lectures. The World Monuments Fund (also known as the Knoll Modernism Prize) is awarded to projects that preserve Modernist architecture every two years. In 2008, the first Knoll Modernism award was given to Winfried Brenne and Franz Jaschke of the German firm ''Brenne Gesellschaft von Architekten'' for the restoration of the former ADGB Trade Union School building on the outskirts of Berlin. The school, built between 1928 and 1930, was a project of the Bauhaus design school. Its architects were Hannes Meyer, then director of the Bauhaus, and Hans Wittwer. The 2010 prize went to Hubert-Jan Henket and Wessel de Jonge, the founders of Docomomo International, for the restoration of Zonnestraal Sanatorium (estate) in Hilversum in the Netherlands. The 2012 prize was given to a consortium of Japanese architects and academics for the restoration of Hizuchi Elementary School, which was built in the 1950s, on Shikoku Island, Japan.Similar companies
Global Furniture Group
* Haworth * Herman Miller (Knoll parent company since 2021) * Steelcase * Vitra (furniture)
Notes
References
Further reading
*External links
*Knoll International
World Monuments Fund / Knoll Modernism Prize 2008 brochure
(pdf) {{Authority control Industrial design firms Furniture companies of the United States Design companies of the United States Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Manufacturing companies based in Pennsylvania Companies based in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 1938 establishments in New York City American companies established in 1938 Manufacturing companies established in 1938 2021 mergers and acquisitions