Piazza Luigi Vittorio Bertarelli, 2,
The international company known in the design world for its iconic products for home and office, presented the new 2016 furniture collections together with its classics by distinguished designers like Mies van der Rohe, Eero Saarinen and Harry Bertoia, in a contemporary lifestyle display at Knoll’s permanent Milan showroom, located at Piazza Luigi Vittorio Bertarelli
For Salone 2016, Knoll once again collaborated with OMA ( the studio co-founded by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas ), to re-design the Piazza Bertarelli showroom.
Knoll’s permanent showroom in Milan, will keep the settings displayed for the Salone, to use once the Fair is over, to show their Italian clientelle
So it is structured in a more logical way – with a bit less dramatics ( as shown by ” this is knoll” in the Fairgrounds) and more sense of the technical tools required to support product sales efforts through out the year ahead
2016 Collections Presented
Piero Lissoni
Piero Lissoni is architect, designer and art director.
In 1986, he and Nicoletta Canesi founded Lissoni Associati, a multidisciplinary architecture and design firm based in Milan. This was followed by the opening of the visual communications company Graph.x in 1996 and later by the architecture firms Lissoni Architettura and the New York based Lissoni Inc.
With its multinational staff, the group encompasses all aspects of architecture, interiors and product design, as well as graphics, art direction and corporate identity, extending globally to include hotel, restaurant, residential, corporate, retail and exhibition design.
“ My points of reference are Mies van der Rohe, Eero Saarinen, Florence Knoll. Names that have awesome importance for anyone who works on design. Nevertheless, I don’t think we should hide in the shadow of the great masters: you always have to come to terms with the contemporary world, without making heritage into the sole value with which to approach the future.” … Piero Lissoni
Avio Sofa
by Peiro Lissoni
The collaboration with Piero Lissoni – who has previously worked with Knoll – has led to a system of upholstered furnishings with an innovative technological concept.
With its nonchalant sense of style, the Avio sofa plays with contrasts, from the metal structure to the soft cushions, the essential lines that conceal complex workmanship to aesthetic detailing based on painstaking research, including the use of different materials on different surfaces.
It is ideal for those who appreciate solid, elegant design that epitomizes a comfortable, relaxed lifestyle.
An object of clear, precise beauty, ideal for everything a sofa is supposed to offer: for resting, conversing, reading, listening to music, sleeping, watching a film, enjoying an aperitif…
Modular and linear, with a light structure that blends perfectly into different settings, Avio is driven by aesthetic design research, skillfully balancing spatial relationships and proportions. The new sofa combines functional and aesthetic poise, playing with the contrast between the lightness of the slim structural framework and the substantial volume of the seats.
A contrast resolved in the harmony of an ideal sofa for home and for contract applications, perfectly inserted in the stylistic direction set by Florence Knoll.
Avio is made with a load-bearing structure, a steel beam from which supports branch out for seats, backs and tables. This framework translates into a versatile system that can generate benches, sofas for two or three people, a chaise longue, tabletops, in a practically infinite sequence, including corner compositions of impressive size.
The padding provides maximum comfort, and the sofa can be covered in leather or fabric, completed with decorative throw cushions.
The sofa system is joined by cabinets, and in the near future it will be enhanced by new elements to gradually expand its functional range and versatility.
“This is a true industrial project, of great complexity, based on the idea of a structural steel beam that through a series of brackets supports different parts for diversified use: the seats are conceived as platforms, but also as support surfaces made of different materials.
In practice, it is a product that changes the traditional idea of upholstered furniture, taking the form of a technological and aesthetic alphabet to assemble in different compositions, for different needs.” ……. Piero Lissoni
Matrioska Credenza
by Peiro Lissoni
Piero Lissoni also designed Matrioska, a variable-geometry storage system – a sensual game of full and empty parts, lights and shadows
Each piece can be moved at will to create always different sequences, offering a glimpse of the contents without fully revealing them.
The traditional materials used – wood, marble, glass – give rise to a structure that is solid and essential at the same time.
The effect is almost immaterial, and the pieces can be closed with doors or open, arranged at regular distances from one another or in free compositions.
Marc Krusin
Marc Krusin began his career in Italy where he worked tirelessly at the heart of the Milanese design scene for more than 13 years.
He became Piero Lissoni’s right-hand-man and associate, leading all types of projects from product to interior design for clients of international reputation. He now has his own practice in London and continues to design spaces and products for clients in several countries around the world.
Among these is Knoll for whom he created the Krusin Chair and Table collection, and more recently the Anchor storage system, both of which have become very successful ranges for this internationally renowned company.
Krusin’s latest introduction with Knoll is Pixel™, a portfolio of performance tables for the entire office with a focus on training and classroom spaces.
Krusin Collection 016
by Marc Krusin
Quality craftsmanship, simple, precise lines and refined details are the key terms of the new seating system designed by Marc Krusin.
This collection embodies the perfect blend of clean lines and remarkable padded softness. It juxtaposes compact forms with ample, comfortable seats. The result is a harmonious object, available in three versions: a seat with or without armrests, and an armchair with an enveloping back.
Not just good looks, but also functional quality: the detail of the meeting between the seat and back makes it possible to easily move the armchair, in a practical, immediate way.
The collection includes three different seating types sharing the same bases, available in die-cast aluminium or solid ash, in a range of finishes.
The cover can be selected from the Knoll range of leathers and velvet, wool or cotton fabrics.
“It’s much less about me (and my design), and much more about excellence in a product. Less ego, better results.”…… Marc Krusin
This is how Marc Krusin explains the dedication that goes into his work, in a single phrase that sums up the character of a designer whose ongoing alliance with Knoll began in 2011 with a collection of tables and seating that won the Good Design Award that same year.
Based on these excellent results, in 2016 the collaboration continues between Knoll and the designer, who after years of work in Italy has opened his own studio in London.
The study of space and objects, with extreme attention to detail, has enabled Krusin to propose a series of items that are precisely aligned with the philosophy that has always inspired Knoll’s work: discretion and timeless quality.
“I often think about the objects I design as classics: presences that stand out for their discretion and balance. And my job is to perfect them, honing the proportions, the details, to improve their image and their functional quality. I have imagined this seating family as noble objects, that you learn to appreciate more with the passage of time. Something like a bespoke suit, that gets more elegant with wear. For this collection I wanted to create bespoke beauty, perceptible in the fine workmanship and the details.” … Marc Krusin
Barber Osgerby
Internationally acclaimed designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby founded their studio in 1996 after graduating with Master’s degrees in Architecture from The Royal College of Art in London.
Alongside their eponymous studio, in 2001 Barber and Osgerby founded Universal Design Studio, now recognized as one of the world’s most innovative creative design consultancies working in architecture, interiors and exhibition design.
They have developed collections for several major furniture manufacturers as well as limited edition pieces and one-off works for both private and public commissions.
Barber Osgerby’s work is held in permanent collections around the world including the V&A Museum, London; New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art; London’s Design Museum; and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Pilot Chair and Ottoman
by Barber Osgerby
Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby’s first collaboration with Knoll was in 2013 when they designed a collection of sofas.
They then went on to create the highly successful Pilot Chair in 2015, an innovative, upholstered lounge chair.
Pilot is a simple, comfortable and lightweight seating system designed for home, work and contract use.
The collection has been extended to now include an ottoman which sits alongside Pilot, a natural extension of the collection with a matching cast aluminium base.
barber osgerby pilot sofa
Womb Settee
by Eero Saarinen
Knoll presented the Womb Settee, a two-seat sofa designed by Eero Saarinen in 1948, prior to his major architectural work for the General Motors Technical Center in Michigan, a complex for over 5000 employees.
The settee has never gone out of style, and is still perfect for all settings, from the living room to the bedroom, as well as the office.
Knoll decided to reissue the piece, and like many of the items designed by Saarinen the Womb Settee has called for particular production techniques and exceptionally high-performance materials.
With this sturdy oversized form, once again Saarinen emphasized the concept of necessary, timeless function.
“ The need for such seats has never gone away. Now, more than ever, we have the need to relax,” …… Eero Saarinen
Womb Chair Relax
by Eero Saarinen
The Womb Chair doubles its comfort and joins the Relax collection, with a foam-coated chassis in soft polyurethane and down-filled cushions, for a chair that is sturdy, comfortable and welcoming at the same time.
New colors and finishes for classic and contemporary Knoll products
The Bertoia Collection
by Harry Bertoia
Chair in cowhide and with a new bronze finish
The Bertoia family now includes an elegant new bronze finish and a refined cowhide cover in natural, black and dark brown.
The modern structure reinforces its character, juxtaposed with a material of timeless style and an increasingly contemporary finish.
Chair & Stool – Outdoor
The classic Side Chair presented at the conclusion of the tribute year, 2015, for the centennial of the birth of the designer, is now also available as an outdoor version in 3 different shell colors – white, black and gray – with the metal structure painted in white or black.
A modern and colorful interpretation of an inimitable chair, faithfully conserving its unique linear design, the new piece stands out for the comfort of the seat, adapting to the widest range of contexts, from residential to contract.
The bar-stool is also available in this new version.
A cushion in six different colors, breathable but waterproof, ideal for prolonged outdoor use, adds another touch of innovation.
About Knoll
The Knoll logo is renowned worldwide with more than forty of its products belong to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York .
Founded in 1938, Knoll is distinguished as a leader in the design of office furniture and residential.
His commitment and his dedication to modern design and innovation have helped create an exclusive collection of residential products, cared for by the most important designers and architects of the world including Eero Saarinen, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (author of the famous Barcelona chair ), Marcel Breuer, Harry Bertoia.
Knoll is recognized internationally for workplace and residential design that inspires, evolves and endures.
Our portfolio of furniture, textile, leather and accessories brands, including Knoll, KnollStudio, KnollTextiles, KnollExtra, Spinneybeck, FilzFelt, Edelman Leather, and HOLLY HUNT, reflects our commitment to modern design that meets the diverse requirements of high performance offices and luxury interiors.
A recipient of the National Design Award for Corporate and Institutional Achievement from the Smithsonian`s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Knoll is aligned with the U.S. Green Building Council and the Canadian Green Building Council and can help organizations achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED workplace certification.
Knoll is the founding sponsor of the World Monuments Fund Modernism at Risk program.
Modern furniture for modern architects.
This was the insight of Hans & Florence Knoll, who after World War II began to transform their family business, realizing that functional quality and design not only have to work together, but should also have equal importance.
The couple turned to great modern architects like Mies van der Rohe, from whom they purchased the production rights for the Barcelona armchair with footrest in 1948, Harry Bertoia and Eero Saarinen, friends since the time at Cranbrook Academy of Art, entrusted in the 1950s with the development of a series of furnishings that would become milestones in the history of design.
Through collaboration with such outstanding talents, and major initiatives like the acquisition of Gruppo Gavina in 1968, the company consolidate its position on the international scene, and began production of furnishings by the likes of Marcel Breuer, Cini Boeri, Tobia Scarpa and Kazuhide Takahama.
Timeless products by the pioneers of modern design have been joined by contemporary perspectives, including recent creations by Rem Koolhaas and David Adjaye, after the work of Frank O. Gehry in the 1990s.
Since the outset under the management of Hans & Florence Knoll the company has moved forward with research on the office and the home, with the goal of interpreting the needs of those who use spaces, in keeping with cultural changes.
Growth and internationalization have always been part of the company’s DNA.
Already in 1951 Knoll had opened affiliates in France and Germany, to take part in the projects of European reconstruction; expansion on the old continent continued in 1956 with the opening of the first showroom in Milan.
