Murray Charles Pfister studied design and architecture at the University of California – Berkley and received his bachelor’s degree in 1961. He joined the San Francisco office of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in 1965.1 Pfister was increasingly given responsibility for interior design and furniture specification for SOM’s corporate clients. He specified top tier furniture manufacturers, including Knoll. For one client contract, he wanted a modular lounge seating but could not find exactly what he was looking for. He decided to approach Knoll with his needed design, which would also be added to the Knoll catalog.
“I have used a basic Tuxedo sofa—in a variety of proportions—over the years,” Pfister was quoted. “I took the most satisfying proportions and added the flexibility of a single module. I expected the design to work in a variety of situations, singly or in almost unlimited combinations, wherever lounge seating was needed. I chose Knoll because of their quality and craftsmanship. Fortunately, they recognized the need in the market for a design which could expand with the client, be important in the scheme or self-effacing.”2
Knoll introduced the Pfister Collection Modular Lounge Seating in 1971.3 It was the flexibility and expandability that attracted Knoll to Pfister’s designs. The components consisted of left and righthand modules, a corner module and center module that was adaptable as a single lounge chair. Pfister’s seating system was ideal for contract specification or residential use.4 The Pfister Lounge Collection has remained in production for over 50 years.5
Pfister’s first design effort opened the door to future furniture and even accessories that are of the most interest to Knoll collectors. In 1972, Pfister designed a collection of Venetian glass bowls, and Knoll added them to the catalog that year.5 The Pfister Bowl Collection continued to be available to order into the mid-1980s.7
Knoll was receptive to an area of furniture design Pfister had wanted to explore: tables. In this respect, Pfister shared the same design philosophy of Otto Zapf in wanting to shun sharp edges. Pfister looked at the common Parson’s table and radiused every edge. The diameter of the legs matched the radii of the table’s four corners. Pfister added a horizontal recess detail along the four sides and flush with where the legs intersected the top.
Pfister selected a choice of oak or mahogany tabletops and legs. When introduced in 1977, Knoll offered three square tables, all 15.75-inch high. The 3002 table was 27.5-inches square, the 3003 table was 39.38-inches square and the 3004 table was 47.25-inches square.Color polymer finishes were added in 19788. For 1979, the Pfister Table Collection was expanded with the 3013, 3014 and 3016 square tables; the 3015 rectangular table (39.38 x 78.75-inches) and the 3017 rectangular table (59,00 x 94.50-inches) all with 28.75-inch height. Legs could now be specified in polished chrome.9
Charles Pfister had made the rewarding discovery of other architects and designers who designed for Knoll—that of designing furniture for interiors, seeing it manufactured and having it carry their name. Pfister was hitting his stride in furniture design. In 1979 Knoll introduced Pfister’s cabinet that employed his modular concept yet again. The cabinet had the same radiused detail throughout and was available in a variety of lengths all having a common 27-inch height and 21.44-inch depth. The most impressive combination was the 3046LH, 3046RH and 3043 Center modules that produced the monumental nine compartment cabinet measuring fourteen feet in length. As with the tables, this cabinet was offered in oak, mahogany or high-gloss polyester finish.10
1. https://encyclopedia.design/2023/03/11/charles-pfister-american-interior-furniture-designer/.
2. Christine Rae, “O The Luxury of It.” Knoll tabloid, 1976. 21.
3. “The Pfister Collection Modular Lounge Seating.” KnollStudio brochure, January 1992.
4. Knoll International Furniture Price List 1977/78, Contract/Residential. 133-134.
5. KnollStudio Price List 2022. 270-279.
6. Brian Lutz, Knoll – A Modernist Universe. (New York: Rizzoli International Publications). 296.
7. Knoll International Price List 1984.191-192. Bowls were not listed in the KnollStudio Price List 1988.
8. Knoll International Furniture Price List Contract/Residential 1977/78,163-164.
9. Knoll International Furniture Price List Contract Residential 5/79, 69-70,
10. Ibid. 93-94.