Florence Knoll - Table Big - 1961

Florence Bassett Knoll Born 1917 United States

Florence became one of Americas most important architects and furniture designers. She studied under the likes of Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen. Florence graduated from Kingswood School in 1934. In 1943 she joined with her husband Hans Knoll in redirecting Hans's furniture company more toward a modernist, Scandinavian style. After her husband's death, Florence took over as head of Knoll. In 1958 she married Harry Hood Bassett. Her American interpretation of minimalist, rationalist design theories is clearly evident in Knoll's storage pieces.

Her work was influenced by some of the greatest designers of her day. Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer all had a part in her architectural education, and her designs reflect the European aesthetic.

Knoll's vision for the new office was clean and uncluttered, and the corporate boom of the 1960's provided the perfect opportunity for her to change the way people looked at work in their offices. Her open plan layouts created clean, uncluttered spaces a perfect venue for her furniture. Companies like H. J. Heinz, CBS, and Connecticut General Life Insurance all embraced this new way of organizing business space.

She mixed woods and metals to great effect and added laminates as they became popular. Dressers and desks are all square in design but never lack for quality. Hanging cabinets have glass shelves, sliding doors and drop down fronts that can be used as bars. As an architect, Knoll's most famous creations are the Connecticut General Life Insurance building in Bloomfield, Connecticut and the interior of the CBS Building in New York City. In the 1950's Florence Knoll's work was often displayed at the Museum of Modern Art's "Good Design" exhibits.