Sleek Norman Foster for Walter Knoll Leather Sofa / Daybed 'Foster 510'
View Similar Items
Sleek Norman Foster for Walter Knoll Leather Sofa / Daybed 'Foster 510'
About the Item
- Creator:Walter Knoll (Manufacturer),Foster & Partners (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 27.96 in (71 cm)Width: 94.89 in (241 cm)Depth: 27.96 in (71 cm)Seat Height: 17.33 in (44 cm)
- Style:Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2000s
- Condition:Excellent condition.
- Seller Location:Hudson, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1062823815202
Walter Knoll
Inspired by the Bauhaus — founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius — Walter Knoll decided to bet big on modernism. He launched his eponymous German furniture maker in 1925, and the company has been going strong ever since.
Most design lovers are familiar with Knoll, the manufacturer of furniture by Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and other modernist giants. It was founded by Hans Knoll in 1941 and led after his death by his wife, Florence Knoll, the doyenne of postwar American office interiors. In recent years, the company has added collections by Maya Lin, Rem Koolhaas, Frank Gehry and David Adjaye, among others, and encouraged customers to do what some of them had been doing all along: use Knoll’s “office furniture” at home.
Fewer Americans are familiar with Walter Knoll, the company Hans’s father founded in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1925 and later moved to nearby Herrenberg. That company has existed in the shadow of the larger U.S.-based Knoll for decades.
Both companies descended from the German manufacturer of ornate leather goods established by Wilhelm Knoll in 1866. In 1907, Wilhelm’s sons, Willy and Walter, took over the father’s business and started producing leather club chairs. Five years later, the company introduced its Nestra line of stripped-down wood and leather seating, foreshadowing the family’s future innovations.
In 1925, when he was 50, Walter Knoll launched the Walter Knoll Company, which soon released the revolutionary Prodomo line of chairs, whose upholstered seats and backs are supported by tubular metal frames. Other lightweight Walter Knoll pieces were used in the passenger compartment of the Hindenburg zeppelin.
In 1927, Walter Knoll furnished five apartments designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for the Weissenhof Estate, 21 prototypes of “workers’ housing of the future” constructed as part of an exhibition in Stuttgart. A decade later, Walter’s son Hans, then 24, traveled to the United States to market his father’s furniture and to make a new life for himself in the New World. But inspired by his encounters with Jens Risom — a Danish-born designer who furthered Scandinavian modernism in the United States — Hans broke away from Walter, creating Knoll Associates (now known simply as Knoll). Florence Schust (later to become Hans’s wife) joined him in the company in 1943, and soon they were working with mid-century modern icons such as Saarinen and Bertoia on new designs and licensing Mies’s Barcelona chair.
After the war, with his factories destroyed and labor and materials in short supply, Walter Knoll turned to Hans for help. Hans sent over several pieces from his Vostra line, designed by Risom. Walter replaced the web seats with upholstery and launched his version of the Vostra at the New Living exhibition in Cologne in 1949. It became hugely successful, persuading many Germans still accustomed to traditional furniture to give modernism a go.
Walter Knoll retired in 1964, but his namesake firm continued growing in Germany. Just like the American Knoll, Walter Knoll has found that some customers want to use pieces originally meant as office furniture in their houses. In fact, these pieces give living and dining rooms a crispness that almost no residential furniture can match.
Find vintage Walter Knoll lounge chairs, sofas, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Rare Pair Sleek Nicos Zographos Limited Leather & Stainless Steel Club ChairsBy Nicos Zographos, Zographos Designs Ltd.Located in Hudson, NYPair of stunning black leather Nicos Zogrophos club chairs. Priced per pair. two pair available. Nicos Zographos made his name during his time at the renown architecture firm ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Armchairs
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Sleek Ward Bennett for Lehigh Naugahyde Barrell Back Desk ChairsBy Ward Bennett, Lehigh Furniture CompanyLocated in Hudson, NYWard Bennett amazingly sleek designed office chair on aluminium star base. 3 available. All good condition with the exception of the naugahyde upholstery. All have some small tears a...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Eero Saarinen for Knoll Executive Armchairs in Heavy Weave Knoll Upholstery BlueBy Knoll, Eero SaarinenLocated in Hudson, NYExecutive armchairs designed by Eero Saarinen and manufactured by Knoll. Have original labels as well as Knoll ticking on underside of each chair. These chairs are all in very good o...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsChrome
- Mies Van Der Rohe for Knoll Brno Chair in Cato Upholstery 60 availableBy Knoll, Ludwig Mies van der RoheLocated in Hudson, NYKnoll Brno chair designed by Mies Van der Rohe. These chairs are upholstered in Knoll's Cato upholstery. Color is 'natural'- which reads as a pale oatmeal color. These chairs are fro...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Stunning & Rare John Hutton for Donghia 'Block Island' Sofa of Wicker & MahoganyBy Donghia, John HuttonLocated in Hudson, NYA very rare example from the limited production Block Island collection designed by John Hutton (1947-2006) for Donghia. The chocolate colored version is very rare- only a few were p...Category
20th Century American Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
MaterialsMahogany, Cane, Wicker
- Set of 4 Mies Van Der Rohe for Knoll Brno Chairs in Cato Upholstery 60 availableBy Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, KnollLocated in Hudson, NYSet of 4 Knoll Brno chairs designed by Mies Van der Rohe. These chairs are upholstered in Knoll's Cato upholstery. Color is 'natural'- which reads as a pale oatmeal color. These chai...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsSteel
$2,880 Sale Price / set20% Off
- Lord Norman Foster Model 500 Black Leather 2 Seat Settee Sofa for Walter KnollBy Walter Knoll, Sir Norman FosterLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a very rare and unusual Walter Knoll 500 settee in black leather, designed by Lord Norman Foster, the renowned British architect. Two sofa...Category
2010s American Modern Sofas
MaterialsSteel
- Walter Knoll by Bernd Münzebrock Brown Leather DaybedBy Bernd Münzebrock, Walter KnollLocated in London, GBOriginally designed by Bernd Münzebrock in 1973 and manufactured by Walter Knoll, this daybed is reminiscent of the iconic Bauhaus designs from the 1930s. Constructed from a chrome ...Category
Vintage 1970s German Daybeds
MaterialsLeather
- Walter Knoll for Sirino Brayton Leather SofaBy Brayton International, Walter KnollLocated in Ferndale, MIBeautifully stitched sand tone leather couch. Leather and cushions are in fine condition. Designed by Walter Knoll for Brayton international. Brayton was absorbed by steel case in th...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather, Upholstery
$2,800 Sale Price20% Off - Tito Agnoli for Cinova Daybed Sofa in Cognac LeatherBy Tito AgnoliLocated in Waalwijk, NLTito Agnoli for Cinova, sofa or daybed model 711, leather, laminated wood, brass, Italy, 1968 Cubic sofa that can be transformed into a daybed ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsBrass
- Rare Richard Schultz Knoll International Daybed / Sofa No. 703By Richard Schultz, KnollLocated in Munich, DEConvertible sofa designed by Richard Schultz for Knoll International. The seat pulls forward and up to create a flat and level bed. Wonderful and classic Mid-Century Modern design up...Category
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Daybeds
MaterialsMetal, Chrome
- Rare No. 704 Richard Schultz Knoll International Daybed / SofaBy Richard Schultz, KnollLocated in Munich, DEConvertible sofa designed by Richard Schultz for Knoll International. The seat pulls forward and up to create a flat and level bed. Wonderful and classic Mid-Century Modern design.Category
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsMetal