Florence Knoll – Lounge Chair (1954)

Florence Knoll (1917-2019) smiles to us sitting in the arm of the lounge chair known by her own name. She designed it in 1954 in line with her global conception of inhabiting a space. As a pioneer American architect and furniture designer, she contributed to create the mood and look of the American post-war lifestyle both in domestic and in office environments. Florence Knoll revealed a functional approach in consonance with the Modernist principles within she was trained but at the same time mastered the expression of an understanding for design beyond that language. Knoll Associates was a company she ran with her husband that became leader in innovative furnishings and interiors during the 1950s and 1960s. This lounge armchair designed to receive different fabrics and colours has to be placed in the large picture of using and enjoying a place as an overall composition.Therefore, function is a feature among many others in order to unfold an atmosphere warmed up with a human-scaled perspective. I suppose that such a chair shelters all reasons to smile while sitting on it.

Author: Fátima Pombo

Photo: © Knoll, Inc.