Knoll (previously Knoll Inc., now a subsidiary MillerKnoll, Inc.), is an American company that manufactures office systems, seating, storage systems, tables, desks, textiles, as well as accessories for the home, office, and higher education. The company is the licensed manufacturer of furniture designed by notable architects and designers such as

David Adjaye Sir David Frank Adjaye (born 22 September 1966) is a Ghanaian-British architect. He is known for having designed many notable buildings around the world, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C ...

Harry Bertoia Harry Bertoia (March 10, 1915 – November 1978) was an Italian-born American artist, sound art sculptor, and modern furniture designer. Bertoia was born in San Lorenzo, Pordenone, Italy. At age 15, given the opportunity to move to Detroit ...

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...

Florence Knoll Florence Marguerite Knoll Bassett ( Schust; May 24, 1917 – January 25, 2019) was an American architect, interior designer, furniture designer, and entrepreneur who has been credited with revolutionizing office design and bringing modernist desi ...

Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions. His works are considered ...

Charles Gwathmey Charles Gwathmey (June 19, 1938 – August 3, 2009) was an American architect. He was a principal at Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, as well as one of the five architects identified as The New York Five in 1969. Gwathmey was perhaps bes ...

Maya Lin Maya Ying Lin (born October 5, 1959) is an American designer and sculptor. In 1981, while an undergraduate at Yale University, she achieved national recognition when she won a national design competition for the planned Vietnam Veterans Memoria ...

Marc Newson Marc Andrew Newson CBE RDI (born 20 October 1963) is an industrial designer who works in aircraft cabin design, product design, furniture design, jewellery, and clothing. His style uses smooth geometric lines, translucency, strength, tran ...

Ini Archibong Inimfon “Ini” Joshua Archibong (born 23 June 1983) is an industrial designer, creative director, artist and musician who is active in product design, furniture design, environmental design, architecture, watch design, and fashion. He has said ...

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the General Motors ...

, and Lella and

Massimo Vignelli Massimo Vignelli (; January 10, 1931 – May 27, 2014) was an Italian designer who worked in a number of areas including packaging, houseware, furniture, public signage, and showroom design. He was the co-founder of Vignelli Associates, with his ...

, under the company's KnollStudio division. Over 40 Knoll designs can be found in the permanent design collection of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

History

The company was founded in New York City in 1938 by

Hans Knoll Hans G. Knoll (1914–1955) was a German-American who, together with his wife, Florence Knoll, founded Knoll, the well-known design company and furniture manufacturer. Biography Hans Knoll was born in Germany in 1914. His father was a modern f ...

. Production facilities were moved to Pennsylvania in 1950. After the death of Hans in 1955, his wife

took over as head of the company. The company is headquartered in

East Greenville, Pennsylvania East Greenville is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,951 at the 2010 census. It is one of a strip of small towns that run together along Route 29, including Red Hill, Pennsburg and East Greenville. The boroug ...

and has manufacturing sites in North America ( East Greenville,

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

Muskegon Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expan ...

, and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

) and Italy (

Foligno Foligno (; Southern Umbrian: ''Fuligno'') is an ancient town of Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the Topino river where it leaves the Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clitunno river system. It is located so ...

and

Graffignana Graffignana ( Lodigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lodi in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about south of Lodi. Graffignana borders the following municipalities: Sant'Angelo Lodigian ...

). In 2011, Knoll received the National Design Award for Corporate and Institutional Achievement from the

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum housed within the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 museums that fall under the wing of the Smithsonian Inst ...

. 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 The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...

and trades under the symbol: MLKN. In July 2021, the company rebranded as

MillerKnoll Herman Miller, officially MillerKnoll, Inc., is an American company that produces office furniture, equipment, and home furnishings, including the Aeron chair, Noguchi table, Marshmallow sofa, and the Eames Lounge Chair. Herman Miller is a ...

Notable designers

Many noteworthy designers have done work for Knoll, including:

Significant products

Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6365652

Many of the company's products are included in museum collections, such as the

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum housed within the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile (New York City), Museum Mile. It is one of 19 museums that fall under the ...

. * In 1948, Eero Saarinen designed the womb chair * In 1956, the company commissioned Eero Saarinen to design the

Tulip chair The Tulip chair was designed by Eero Saarinen in 1955 and 1956 for the Knoll company of New York City. The designs were initially entitled the 'Pedestal Group' before Saarinen and Knoll settled on the more organic sounding 'Tulip Chair' to mirror ...

for production. * Following 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 The Barcelona chair is a chair designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich, for the German Pavilion at the International Exposition of 1929, hosted by Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The chair was first used in Villa Tugendhat, a privat ...

designed in collaboration with

Lilly Reich Lilly Reich (16 June 1885 – 14 December 1947) was a German designer of textiles, furniture, interiors, and exhibition spaces. She was a close collaborator with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for more than ten years during the Weimar period in the 19 ...

for the 1929 Barcelona Pavilion

* The company holds production rights to the

Wassily Chair The Wassily Chair, also known as the Model B3 chair, was designed by Marcel Breuer in 1925–1926 while he was the head of the cabinet-making workshop at the Bauhaus, in Dessau, Germany. Despite popular belief, the chair was not designed spec ...

Marcel Breuer Marcel Lajos Breuer ( ; 21 May 1902 – 1 July 1981), was a Hungarian-born modernist architect and furniture designer. At the Bauhaus he designed the Wassily Chair and the Cesca Chair, which ''The New York Times'' have called some of the most im ...

. * In 1947, Knoll acquired exclusive U.S. production rights of the Hardoy chair ''("Butterfly chair")'' by Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy. Cheaper imitations flooded the market. Knoll took legal action in 1950, in the end losing their claim of

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

; the model was dropped in 1951.

Architecture preservation

Knoll sponsors exhibitions, scholarships, and other activities related to

Modernist architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form ...

and design. In 2006, Knoll and the

World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and trainin ...

, 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 the threats to Modernist architecture through exhibitions and lectures. The World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize is awarded every two years to projects that preserve Modernist architecture. In 2008, the first Knoll Modernism award was given to Winfried Brenne and Franz Jaschke of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

firm ''Brenne Gesellschaft von Architekten'' for the restoration of the former

ADGB Trade Union School The ADGB Trade Union School (''Bundesschule des Allgemeinen Deutschen Gewerkschaftsbundes'' (ADGB)), is a training centre complex in Bernau bei Berlin, Germany. It was built for the former General German Trade Union Federation, from 1928 to 1930 ...

building on the outskirts of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. The school, built between 1928 and 1930, was a project of the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...

design school. The architects were

Hannes Meyer Hans Emil "Hannes" Meyer (18 November 1889 – 19 July 1954) was a Swiss architect and second director of the Bauhaus Dessau from 1928 to 1930. Early life Meyer was born in Basel, Switzerland, trained as a mason, and practiced as an architect i ...

, then director of the Bauhaus, and

Hans Wittwer Hans Wittwer (4 February 1894 – 19 March 1952) was a Swiss architect who worked in Germany and who taught architecture at the Bauhaus art school in Dessau. He was a proponent of functionalist architecture; the idea that form follows function ...

. The 2010 prize went to Hubert-Jan Henket and Wessel de Jonge, the founders of

Docomomo International Docomomo International (sometimes written as DoCoMoMo or simply Docomomo) is a non-profit organization whose full title is: International Committee for Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement. ...

, for the restoration of Zonnestraal Sanatorium (estate) in

Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...

, The Netherlands. The 2012 prize was given to a consortium of Japanese architects and academics for the restoration of the 1950s Hizuchi Elementary School on

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

island, Japan.

Similar companies

Global Furniture Group
*

Haworth Haworth () is a village in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, in the Pennines, south-west of Keighley, west of Bradford and east of Colne in Lancashire. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhope. Nearby villages includ ...

Herman Miller Herman Miller, officially MillerKnoll, Inc., is an American company that produces office furniture, equipment, and home furnishings, including the Aeron chair, Noguchi table, Marshmallow sofa, and the Eames Lounge Chair. Herman Miller is al ...

Steelcase Steelcase Inc. is an American manufacturer of furniture, casegoods, seating, and space solutions for offices, hospitals, classrooms, and residential interiors. It is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. History Originally known as Th ...

Vitra (furniture) Vitra is a Swiss family-owned furniture company with headquarters in Birsfelden, Switzerland. It is the manufacturer of the works of many furniture designers. Vitra is also known for the works of notable architects that make up its premises in Wei ...

References

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