Florence Knoll (née Schust) is an American architect and furniture designer who studied under Mies van der Rohe and Eliel Saarinen. Born in 1917, she studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. There she became good friends with other students who would later become renowned designers. This included both Charles and Ray Eames, as well as Eero Saarinen, son of architect and teacher Eliel.
During her career, Knoll has briefly worked with leaders of the Bauhaus movement, including Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. She married Hans Knoll in 1946 and together they founded Knoll Associates. indeed, Florence Knoll continued to control the artist direction of Knoll Associates, even with the sudden death of her husband and company-founder in 1955. Characterized by a strong motivation that architects should contribute their design ability to furniture as well, Knoll went on to create furniture designs - such as her Sofa and Armchair - that would become icons of the 20th century.
