Knoll Florence Knoll® Executive Desk

Prior to the pioneering approach of Florence Knoll and the Knoll Planning Unit, executive offices in America were nearly all planned the same way. Florence Knoll described this standard layout in her 1964 “Commercial Interiors” entry for the Encyclopedia Britannica: “In such an office there was always a diagonally-placed desk, with a table set parallel behind it, a few chairs scattered around the edge of the room, and a glassed in bookcase. The table behind the desk generally became an unsightly storage receptacle.” Seeking to create a space better suited to the executive’s primary function — communication — Florence reconsidered the illogical layout from an architectural perspective. She eliminated the imposing desk, replacing it with the more inviting table desk, placed parallel to the back wall. Storage was moved to behind the table in a matching low credenza.

The elegant 2480 Pedestal Table Desk, introduced in 1961, exudes executive quality and epitomizes Mies van der Rohe’s impact on Florence’s approach to design. Each detail was endlessly refined to achieve simple, seemingly effortless beauty. Knoll Development Group member Vincent Cafiero: “She had an ability to see. I remember working with her on the base of the table, and we were talking about fractions of an inch — 16ths and 32nds of a taper — just to get it absolutely right.” Despite being conceived for the office, the table has found itself in many dining rooms over the last fifty years.

Featuring the same iconic base as her table desk, Florence Knoll's Executive Desk brings warmth, style and sophistication to the modern office.

MEASUREMENTS:

• Height: 69.8 cm / 27.5 inch


• Width: 121.9 cm / 48 inch


• Depth: 66 cm / 26 inch

MATERIALS:

• Top and side are solid MDF core with veneer faces


• Pencil drawers are solid maple lumber with veneer face and edge


• Drawers on ball bearing metal slides


• Frame and legs are heavy gauge welded steel with polished chrome finish


• Four star base has adjustable steel glides with a chrome finish

HELPFUL NOTES:

• Frame/Drawers available in two finish options


• Drawer mounts only on right side


• KnollStudio logo and Florence Knoll’s signature are stamped into the base of the table

Florence Knoll

USA, 1917

Born Florence Schust in 1917, and orphaned at age 12, Knoll began her architectural studies at the Kingswood School in Michigan and was virtually adopted by the family of Eliel Saarinen. She continued her studies at Cranbook Academy of Art, the Architectural Association in London, and the Illinois Institute of Technology under Mies van der Rohe, where she received her architectural degree. In 1946, she married Hans Knoll, owner of the Hans G. Knoll Furniture Company and the firm became known as Knoll Associates, Inc.

As an architect, interior space planner, and furniture designer, Florence Knoll defined the look and market for modern design in corporate America in the 1950s and made modern American design an international style. Her pioneering interiors profoundly influenced post-World War II design. Her reductive aesthetic of light, open spaces furnished with elegant woven fabrics, furniture grouped for informal conversation and brightly colored wall panels made Knoll one of the most influential design firms of the time.

Her notable planning projects for the firm included the interior design of the CBS, Seagrams, and Look magazine offices in New York City. After her husband’s death, Florence served as president and continued as design director of the company until 1965 when she resigned to pursue a career as a freelance designer.

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