Knoll

No matter how much it hinges upon a proximity to the present, there’s something ceaselessly classic about Modernism. Astutely architected yet freely informal, its low slung lines creep just beyond the confines of time and space to arrive at a relaxed rationality universal to every era. Not without Knoll would we know this magnetic mix were possible, but the collaborative studio – whose mantra is ‘Modern Always’ – has been honing a style invested in solution since 1938, and now celebrates its 80th anniversary with a revision of best-loved landmark pieces.

We begin with the Butterfly Chair, an icon engineered across epochs, the brainchild of three young architects inspired by the Tripolina military fold-up. The utilitarianism of its roots read from the Butterfly’s hammock-like skeleton, refined in 1948 when Hans Knoll purchased the rights to the design. Ahead of its time then; still visionary now, tailored to the contemporary mood with a sensuous palette of materials. Lithe lines are instilled by chromium-plated or coated steel in black or white, sheathed with a lazer-cut, thermoformed felt seat, self-supporting in its structure, and unblemished by stitching. The Avio sofa system, meanwhile, clips its sprawling proportions to offer a compact couch, making cuts on the depth to make it friendly to smaller spaces. The Bastiano takes the other direction, expanding its offering with more ample and casual editions. Soft textiles still spar sweetly with the solidity of the wooden skeleton, iroko wood selected for its robust integrity and yellow warmth that takes on natural walnut brown highlights when kissed by sunrays. Each of the catalog’s upholstered pieces are available in the newly-introduced Bellagio leather, or an extended selection of sumptuous fabrics which speak of Knoll’s vivid DNA.
Slight and sprightly, the Grasshopper Table returns, renewed with a choice of curious stone tops like Rosso Rubino marble, glass and an assortment of woods. Offered with a novel rounded-corner rectangular surface or with a wide circle top, these novel twists on tradition remain beautifully transitional to function, style or space, completed with high-performance cast steel legs, treated to a chromed, burnished or coated finish. And for the occasion of the revered Salone del Mobile, with a stand conceived by OMA, a hyper-protracted version, measuring an impressive 4.5 meters, arrived supported by two additional central legs, its magnitude a perfect match for the boardroom. Think modern always, and it’s always modern – even at 80 years-young.