Knoll is Modern Always® because modern always works.
Continuing its relationship with OMA, Knoll called upon the architecture studio, co-founded by Rem Koolhaas, to design ” This is Knoll ” for the 55th edition of Milan’s Salone del Mobile
OMA designed a new pavilion for Knoll using marble walls and glass panels.
The knoll display was a hyper-modern interpretation of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s modernist masterwork, the Barcelona Pavilion, with a focus on chromatic effects, stylistic twists and timeless furnishings.
OMA’s concept was described as an ‘asymmetrical composition of movable partitions,’ the stand combines a variety of materials to set the stage for a range of different furniture pieces.
The sliding walls made it possible to divide the Knoll display area into two separate sections or to create an open space, depending on need
The central diagonal sliding walls either separate or open the central space — adapting to meet the flux and flow of visitors — while the movement, perspective and superimposition of layered surfaces reference the collages of Mies van der Rohe.
The stand combined a variety of materials to set the stage for a range of different furniture pieces
OMA deployed a range of materials that reinforce the concept of heterogeneity and create lush backdrops for the Knoll collections.
These contrasting materials range from soft and solid, organic and synthetic, to transparent and opaque.
As in the original Barcelona Pavilion, designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1929, the OMA design puts luxe, natural stone at center stage.
SolidNature, a longtime partner to OMA in realizing complex architectural projects, contributed stunning material offerings, testing the limits of material expression with some of the world’s most exclusive marbles, including SolidNature’s signature travertine.
OMA juxtaposed the marble materials with “Architectural Glass Panels,” a custom project by the designer Sabine Marcelis that combines glass, metal and touches of color to create spatial dividers or theatrical wings.
The work, specifically commissioned for Knoll at the Salone del Mobile 2016, reflects OMA’s own signature theatrical choreography.
A series of scenes unfolds throughout the space, with new products playing the characters in a story of innovation and creativity—new ways of living at home and at work, from the most private rooms to the most public facilities.
Visitors who followed the OMA-designed circulation discovered new interpretations of design icons mixed with the latest pieces in unexpected settings.
” Our space at the Salone illustrates the innovative spirit of Knoll design through the new creations developed this year by Piero Lissoni and Marc Krusin, celebrating the past and future story of the brand at the same time,” ….. Demetrio Apollini, President of Knoll Europe.
” OMA has created our stand to emphasize the contribution of our founders, who brought the benefits of modern design into both homes and places of work.” …….. Benjamin Pardo, Executive Vice President of Design, Knoll,
Knoll is Modern Always® because modern always works.
