The history of Knoll is the history of modern design. Founded in 1938 by Hans Knoll and joined by his wife, Florence Knoll, the company is credited for bringing European modern design to America, then nurturing the best homegrown talents at mid-century to build the most successful and prestigious high-end furniture company in the world. Throughout its history Knoll has been at the forefront of cutting-edge and chic design, the first company to produce Mies van der Rohe’s and Marcel Breuer’s tubular furniture for a receptive domestic market, making Bauhaus ideals a reality to an American audience. Knoll also leveraged America’s newfound economic and cultural status after World War II by commissioning now-iconic furniture pieces, such as Eero Saarinen’s Tulip chair and Harry Bertoia’s Wire chairs. More recently Knoll has produced instant classics from Frank Gehry and Richard Meier. Equally significant is Knoll’s pioneering foray into office planning, which resulted in Florence Knoll’s iconic furniture and later one of the first office systems. Knoll also fully integrated graphic design into its program, with photography and advertising by masters such as Herbert Matter and Massimo Vignelli. Comprehensive in narrative and scope, this monograph will be a classic in its own right with images and texts on furniture, furnishings, systems, graphics, and unique insight into the modern world that is Knoll.
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"The early chapters of Brian Lutz’s Knoll: A Modernist Universe (Rizzoli) read like a portrait of the Greatest Generation, only with really cool furniture. Hans Knoll, an entrepreneur from a well-known German furniture-manufacturing family, and Florence Schust, an architect whose education brought her in contact with greats like Eliel Saarinen and Mies van der Rohe, married in 1946 and quickly turned Hans’s small company into a design powerhouse." ~New York Times Magazine
"Why We Love It: Knoll takes a comprehensive look at the brand's history, including how it leveraged post-war prosperity to become onf ot he most prestigious furniture companies in the world." ~Luxe
"Knoll: A Modernist Universe (Rizzoli, $75) surveys the global powerhouse from its start in 1938 to the fabrics and furnishings it produces for high-tech interiors today." ~Elle Decor
"Rizzoli's new Knoll: A Modernist Universe is a history of all things Knoll - the founders, the company, the furniture... It looks like a coffee-table book - there are some quite glamorous photos of iconic chairs and some pretty nifty vintage material - but this is a book to read as well as browse." ~Home Miami
"Why We Love It: Knoll takes a comprehensive look at the brand's history, including how it leveraged post-war prosperity to become onf ot he most prestigious furniture companies in the world." ~Luxe
"Knoll: A Modernist Universe (Rizzoli, $75) surveys the global powerhouse from its start in 1938 to the fabrics and furnishings it produces for high-tech interiors today." ~Elle Decor
"Rizzoli's new Knoll: A Modernist Universe is a history of all things Knoll - the founders, the company, the furniture... It looks like a coffee-table book - there are some quite glamorous photos of iconic chairs and some pretty nifty vintage material - but this is a book to read as well as browse." ~Home Miami
About the Author
Brian Lutz is the author of the first full monograph on the furniture of the Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen. Reed Kroloff is the Director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A CLASSIC !,
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This review is from: Knoll: A Modernist Universe (Hardcover)
Author Brian Lutz illuminates the seventy-year history of a design and manufacturing company from birth until now. He was given complete access to the Knoll archives and spent hours interviewing the principal players including Florence Schust, Jeffrey Osborne, Richard Schultz and even the craftsmen who worked in the factory. This careful documentation adds a new source of insider knowledge to the public domain. One can question whether Knoll's product introductions after the year 2000 will be as important as the icons that Knoll introduced in the 50's, 60', 70's and 80's. But Lutz shows both the good and the less good, and allows the reader to interpret the high points of this incredible tour-de-force company.This book is so beautifuly illustrated that one might buy it for pictures only. However there is much, much more and you will constanting refer back to it. Also you will discover the true story of a young woman from Cranbrook who infused good design into the American lifestyle. Whether it's a minimal Saarinen pedestal table, the crisp graphic design by Vignelli, Marianne Strengell's glorious woven textiles, Chippendale chairs by Venturi or Florence Knoll's space planning unit -- it is all here. Every architect, interior designer, and lay person interested in design during the last century should OWN a copy this book. KNOLL, published by Rizzoli, provides a glowing tribute to an American furniture company that became and remains a world CLASSIC !
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This one outshines all the others!,
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This review is from: Knoll: A Modernist Universe (Hardcover)
In the world of 20th century design, we all know the importance of Hans and Florence Knoll. Almost all modern design furniture manufacturers have ripped off (and continue to rip off) one Knoll design after another, some with their own imprint on it but always missing something special: the Knoll touch. There are several books already written on the Knoll Group, but this book is the only one you need. Don't waste your money on any others; they are all just a rehash of Knoll's greatest hits. This book is an academic study on the building of a company run by some of the most creative minds of the time. Brian Lutz has written the masterpiece on the history of Knoll and the designers and artists who brought innovation to the world of furniture design. If you are interested in truly learning about what changed the entire flavor of the world, the modernization of our society in art, archictecture and design, this book is a must. The author is a true scholar of his subject and you will be able to get into the mind of Florence Knoll, et al., instead of just looking at pretty pictures. There are great visuals as well, some you will have never seen in any other books on Knoll. Don't be fooled by the sucky cover; take it off and trash it and you will have a beautiful book, inside and out, for your library.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Knoll: A Modernist Universe (Hardcover)
This book looks good, but the content is the same old same old. The book focuses on the early days of the company and then becomes a kind of catalog/advertisement for the current product line. There are major gaps in the twisting and turning history. I think the earlier work by Larabee is better.
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