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.
Hans Knoll was born in Germany in 1914. His father was a modern furniture manufacturer. In 1938, he moved to New York City to found a furniture manufacturing company of his own. In 1941, he paired with furniture designer Jens Risom to launch the Hans Knoll Furniture Company. (Risom designed 15 of the 20 pieces of furniture in the Hans Knoll Furniture Company's "600" line, which began production in 1941.)
In 1943, Knoll was approached by Florence Schust, an architect who had studied under Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eliel Saarinen. Schust convinced Knoll that she could help bring in business to his company even in America's wartime economy by expanding into interior design by working with architects. With her architectural background and design flair, she succeeded. Hans Knoll fell in love with Florence Schust and in 1946, they were married. At that time, they changed the name of the Hans Knoll Furniture Company to Knoll Associates.
The Knolls determined that, although they were focused on modern design, they would also abide by the values of the Bauhaus: design excellence, technological innovation and mass production. They took the at the time innovative idea of paying royalties to their designers based on how well the designer's furniture sold. In this way, they were able to attract the design services of Harry Bertoia and Eliel Saarinen. Knoll Associates also acquired the rights to the Barcelona chair designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
In 1945, Knoll launched its Knoll Planning Unit, under Florence's direction. She also launched a textiles division in 1947.
Hans Knoll moved the firm's headquarters to Pennsylvania in 1950, believing that he would be able to find talented craftsmen among the region's large German population.
He died in a car crash with a runaway truck in 1955 at the age of 41. Hans Knoll was survived by his widow Florence who became president of their company and his 2 children from an earlier marriage Peter Knoll and Maria (Maja) Knoll.