A chance encounter between Florence Schutz and Hans Knoll resulted in the establishment of a signature furniture brand in the United States and a synergistic Planning Unit that partnered with the greatest names in American architecture.
“I was working in an architectural office here in New York,” Florence Knoll Bassett stated in an interview in the late 1970s, “having just come from the Illinois Institute of Technology, where I had gotten my architectural education with Mies van der Rohe. My relationship with the company started during the war [1943] with some special interiors for Hans Knoll. I was …here in the city and started moonlighting, in a sense, doing these extra jobs on my own time, for Hans as an interior space planner and designer.
“Many of the designs that [Hans] had at that time were ones that I did not approve of. I felt they were too romantic and didn’t quite fit in with my ideas. They were Scandinavian. I suggested to him that he try to find other designers to work with him. That’s how the thing started.”1
Years later, she elaborated on her first meeting with Hans and how the working relationship grew in an interview with Paul McKovsky for Metropolis magazine. “I was working in New York. Hans Knoll came in [to the office] and he was trying to sell a chair design that he had bought. That’s how I met him. He had a request to do some interiors and asked me to do them for him. That’s when the Planning Unit got started. So, I went to work with him in a tiny, little office at 601 Madison [Avenue] and as we grew, we got a penthouse. At that time, I started to collect all of the people I really admired Saarinen, Bertoia and Rapson who were at Cranbrook [Academy of Art] when I was there.”2
The Planning Unit and the interior design contracts it handled were the impetus for the furnishing requirements. These were fulfilled with existing designs, new designs from within the Planning Unit or from outside designers both Florence and Hans knew. Knoll Associates, Inc. was formed in 1946, the same year Hans and Florence were married.3 The post war era accelerated the influx of contracts, and the Knoll catalog of furnishings included residential as well as commercial furniture.
“The Planning Unit existed because of my background in architecture,” Knoll Bassett said. “It was the very first furniture company [that] ever had a planning department. If you look at Herman Miller’s and Knoll’s work, not now but earlier, they took one approach and we took another. Ours was based on planning, [which] was due to me. I saw the development of furniture in sense of need. Charlie Eames and George Nelson saw it more in the sense of an individual piece. When I say “need,” I mean for a total job. I would say to Eero [Saarinen], for example, “There isn’t a decent office chair, swivel chair, we need one. That’s what we must do.”4
That “need” also took the form of desks, tables of all kinds, credenzas, desk chairs (prior to those of Saarinen), lounge chairs, settees, sofas and more. The 1940s and 1950s were her most prolific design period and these were produced in concert with the corporate design contracts the Planning Unit was also responsible for, in addition to the textile division Knoll also became known for.
Many of Florence Knoll Bassett’s furniture designs remain in production today, particularly the executive office pieces such as the round table, oval and rectangular table desks, credenzas and related pieces. However, her residential designs from the early 1960s are no longer in the catalog. She created these after the sale of Knoll to Art Metal in 1959; she stepped down as President of the company while remaining as director of design for Knoll until 1965.
In 1960, she designed a series of chests in walnut veneer with optional white laminate tops. These include the 323-1 three drawer Chest in veneer with white laminate top, and 323-2 entirely in veneer, the 324-2 Four Drawer Chest in veneer, the taller 325-1 and 325-2 four drawer chest and the 326-1 and 326-2 Five Drawer Chest. The 329-1 or 329-2 suspended vanity could be mounted between two 324 chests5. White marble tops could be special ordered.
In 1964, Knoll Bassett updated her three-drawer chest, eliminating the drawer pulls. Finger grooves were added to the ends of each drawer to permit opening. The catalog number for this chest was 523.In 1967, two years after retiring from Knoll, she designed a Extension Dining Table (Cat. No. 303).6 These were among the last residential pieces of furniture she designed for Knoll and they remained in production through the early 1970s.
In 1961, she designed a new executive office collection of furniture, most likely in response to a project being handled by the Planning Unit. This collection included oval table desks, rectangular executive table desk, and credenzas. Most of these iconic designs are still in production.7
1. Margot Weller, “The Knoll Transcripts,” Art Papers (January/February 2015). 51-52.
2. Paul McKovsky, “The Soul of Knoll,” Metropolis (July 2001). 97. https://metropolismag.com/profiles/soul-florence-knoll-2001-digital-reprint/
3. “Knoll Designer Bios – Florence Knoll”. https://www.knoll.com/designer/Florence-Knoll
4. Weller. 52.
5. Steven and Linda Rouland, Knoll Furniture 1938-1960 (Atglen: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2005). 138-140.
6. Nancy N. Schiffer, Knoll Home and Office Furniture (Atglen: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2006). 209, 275
7. Knoll International Furniture Price List 1977/78 Contract/Residential. 47.