Joseph D’Urso studied architecture and interior design at Pratt Institute and graduated in 1965, two years after Bruce Hannah and Andrew Morrison. He worked for Ward Bennett and was strongly influenced by Bennet’s minimalist modern approach to design. While in England, he studied at the Manchester College of Art and became a Fellow at the Royal College of Art in London.1 It was during this time D’Urso proposed the preservation and modernization of York House, an early 20th century textile warehouse in Manchester.
Moving back to New York, D’Urso opened his own design office in 1967. He compiled an impressive list of corporate and private clients for his design services throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Knoll wanted D’Urso among its list of designers, so he worked on the designs for lounge seating, low rolling tables having an engineered look and a range of work tables mounted on casters for mobility. Tables with glides were also offered.
Knoll introduced the D’Urso Collection in 1980. Lounge seating included the No. 1060 sofa with matching loose pillows, the No. 1061 large sofa (L-shape) with round corner unit, and the No. 1062 large sofa with square corner unit.
The low rolling 14.5″ high tables were No. 6022 (22” sq.), No. 6027 (27” sq.) and No. 6048 (48” sq.) The 27.5” high tables featured extruded aluminum legs in various finishings with casters or glides; these included the No. 6342, 6348, 6354 and 6360 square tables, No. 6242, 6248, 6254, 6260 and 6272 round tables, and the 6472, 6484 and 6496 racetrack tables.2
Production of the No. 1060, 1061 and 1062 lounge seating, and the No. 6022, 6027 and 6048 low rolling tables continued through 1988, but were not listed in the price list for 1990.3 These are all collectibles today.
1. “Joseph Paul D’Urso Collection.” Brochure, Knoll, Inc. 2010.
2. Knoll International Residential Price List 2/81.41-44, 60-65, 86-87.
3. KnollStudio Price List 1988. 78-81, 190-191. KnollStudio Price List 1990.