| The Knoll Planning Unit (1943--1965), the interior design service of Knoll Associates, was responsible for some of the most pioneering corporate interior designs of the postwar period. A brochure about the Planning Unit stated that it "grew out of a demand by private and architect-clients to provide interiors in which the concept embodied in the Knoll line of furniture and fabrics is carried to its logical conclusion: fusion of architectural space and its contents."; The Planning Unit was directed by the privileged and talented Florence Knoll. Planning Unit offices are distinguished by a humanized modernism which combined spare form with sumptuous textures and conspicuous color. The offices showcased the Knoll look, a recognizable combination of furniture, colors, and fabrics, which became the trademark of Knoll design. Through a combination of auspicious clients, astute promotion, and skilled staff, the Planning Unit turned this corporate humanized modernism into a ubiquitous reality. |
