Customer Reviews

Knoll: A Modernist Universe

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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 !

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.

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.