Knoll (company)
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| Knoll | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Public (NYSE: KNL) |
| Founded | 1938 |
| Founder | Hans Knoll |
| Headquarters | East Greenville, PA, USA |
| Key people | Florence Knoll |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Products | Designer furniture |
| Website | www.knoll.com |
Knoll is an American company that produces office furniture systems and iconic furniture for the home. The company has been recognized as a worldwide design leader. The company sells furniture for the home by design greats such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Harry Bertoia, Frank Gehry, Maya Lin and Eero Saarinen. (This company is not to be confused with the historic English company, Knoll, dating to the seventeenth century, which manufactured classic soft furnishings such as the Knoll sofa.)
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 listed at the New York Stock Exchange.
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[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 US 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.
- The Domus chair by Ilmari Tapiovaara was produced between 1951-1957.
[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
- 2 x 4
(Source: [5])
[edit] Philanthropy
Knoll sponsors exhibitions, scholarships, and other philanthropic 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 will be awarded biennially to a designer or design firm in recognition of projects that preserve Modern landmarks.
[edit] External links
- Knoll home page
- Knoll International
- KNL
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