Who was Florence Knoll Bassett: Knoll co-founder died at the age of 101 on January 25th
Austere and edgy, elegant and characterized by recurring materials such as marble and metal: the Knoll style is definitely codified and recognizable and is the mark that Florence Knoll Bassett gave to it. The story of this woman, one of the most relevant figures in the history of design, is sadly characterized by dramatic events, beginning with the disappearance of her parents when she was only 12 years old. It was her guardian, to let her visit the Kingswood girls' school, designed by Eliel Saarinen (father of Eero Saarinen), who became her first mentor and who introduced her to the Cranbrook Academy of Art, after graduating from Columbia University . The Saarinen family influences the design taste and education of Florence and in the years of training Eero Saarinen becomes one of his dearest friends, later he will design the Tulip line for Knoll. At the same time, she has the opportunity to meet personalities like Alvar Aalto, Marcel Breuer, Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
In 1946 he married Hans Knoll, about to start a new furniture production company, Knoll, which Florence contributes to making famous, innovative and well defined from the point of view of style, actualizing the dominant modernist influences of the period. Inside the company, she creates the planning department, from which revolution the American office furniture, introducing open space and beautiful, refined and modern furniture. Which today are trendy, even in homes. In the image, the sofa and the armchairs of the relaxed lounge collection by Florence Knoll.
While continuing to design furniture and directing the company with her husband, Florence realizes the potential of the textile industry: her habit of showing customers samples of fabric, leads her to create a coded sample, which will then be imitated by almost all the companies in the sector. In the image the Florence Knoll bench.
In 1955 Florence's life was devastated by a second, tragic event: the sudden death of her husband Hans, in a car accident. Florence continues to have control of the company, without neglecting any aspect, personally following the design of the showrooms, advertising campaigns and marketing. In 1957 she married the banker Harry Hood Bassett and in 1959 she sold the Knoll to the Art Metal Construction Company, maintaining the position of president and then director of design. In the image, the Florence Knoll dining table.
In 1961 she was the first woman to receive the gold medal for Industrial Design conferred by the American Institute of Architects; in 2003 President George W. Bush award her with the National Medal of Arts, the highest American honor in the field of arts. In the image, the Florence Knoll mini-desk.
Even today the most prestigious offices in the world rely on the Knoll style, which, created to furnish the work spaces, has spread widely in domestic spaces, thanks to the harmony of elegance and sobriety that Florence Knoll Bassett had been able to imagine at the origins of the company.
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