EXCLUSIVE: Knoll Opens New York Flagship
MILAN — Knoll, the American furniture-maker also known for its prowess in the field of architectural interiors, on Wednesday opened its new Gramercy location.
The location takes the place of the brand’s former Midtown store. It is situated on the second and third floors of the MillerKnoll showroom and retail space located at 251 Park Avenue South and was designed under the creative direction of Knoll senior vice president, design Jonathan Olivares. In total, MillerKnoll’s space spans 77,000 square feet and 11 floors and occupies an historic Renaissance-revival building from 1910.
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The MillerKnoll building also houses American brands Herman Miller and Geiger/Datesweiser, as well as furnishings from Copenhagen-based Muuto and Maharam textiles, corporate office space and a MillerKnoll Studio. In Dallas in 2023, MillerKnoll opened its first showroom combining both the Herman Miller and Knoll brands in one space.
MillerKnoll came to be after fellow U.S. heritage brand Herman Miller bought Knoll in 2021. Zeeland, Mich.-based MillerKnoll is listed on Nasdaq.
Knoll was founded in 1938 in New York City in a small space on East 72nd Street by German-born furniture-maker Hans Knoll, who was greatly influenced by the Bauhaus movement. Knoll propelled the company into a post-war era with his wife, American architect Florence Schust. The duo later became well known for redefining the modern office.
Following Hans’ death in 1955, Florence succeeded him as president and sold the company at the end of the ’50s. She worked at the company until 1965 and famously spearheaded the interior design of the CBS headquarters in New York City.
With this new space, Knoll embraces its roots and what Florence Knoll used to refer to as “a total job,” Olivares explained.
“It may seem provocative, but Knoll was originally established as an interiors brand rather than just a furniture company. Florence Knoll pioneered interior design, and the wide variety of products, colors, materials and finishes is intended to help designers create cohesive spaces,” he said.
Her designing ethos, he continued, is very much at the heart of Knoll’s New York showroom, in which iconic furniture pieces like the Perron Pillo sofa and the Morrison Hannah chair enhance the interiors adorned with steel mesh curtains, contrasted by bursts of primary colors and intermixed with artwork by visionaries like Italian American Harry Bertoia, who worked with the Knolls and studied with Florence.
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