Knoll, Florence

An accomplished designer and architect, Florence Knoll studied under Mies van der Rohe and gained early professional experience with Marcel Breuer and Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius. When she and her husband, Hans, formed Knoll Associates in the late 1940s, Knoll championed the Bauhaus approach to furniture design, offering pieces that reflect design, technological innovation, and mass production.

Knoll revolutionized interior space planning. Her belief in "total design" – embracing architecture, manufacturing, interior design, textiles, graphics, advertising and presentation – and her application of design principles in solving space problems were radical departures from the standard practice in the 1950’s, but were quickly adopted and remain widely used today.

For her outstanding contributions to architecture and design, Florence Knoll was accorded the National Endowment for the Arts' 2002 National Medal of Arts.