Name: Warren Platner '1705' Easy Chair for Knoll
Brand: Warren Platner
Price: 9400 USD
Availability: InStock

Warren Platner '1705' Easy Chair for Knoll

View Similar Items

Warren Platner Gray Leather 1705 Easy Chair and Ottoman Set of Two, Knoll, 1966

Pair of Warren Platner Lounge Chairs for Knoll

Warren Platner Easy Lounge Chair and Ottoman

Warren Platner for Knoll Lounge Chair in Knoll Velvet with Bronze Finish

Warren Platner Easy Lounge Chair for Knoll, 1980s

Warren Platner 1705Y Easy Ottoman, Gray Leather and Nickel, Knoll, 1966

1976 Warren Platner for Knoll Bronze Lounge Chair and Ottoman

Warren Platner Grey Leather Easy Chair and Ottoman Set of Three, Knoll, 1966

Warren Platner for Knoll Easy Chair in White Chenille

Pair of Warren Platner Easy Lounge Chairs and Ottoman

Pair of Armchairs by Warren Platner for Knoll International, 1960s

Warren Platner Easy Lounge Chair for Knoll 1966 (Old Edition)

About the Item

Warren Platner for Knoll, lounge chair 'model 1705', steel and red fabric, United States, 1966. This iconic beige easy chair by Warren Platner is created by welding curved steel rods to circular and semi-circular frames, simultaneously serving as structure and ornament. It was Platner who suggested to make a range of furniture for Knoll that made use of this bent steel as a material. The process to develop this line was however difficult as it took a long time to develop the technical necessities to align the large number of wires. In the beginning the opinion on the new Platner-Knoll line were divided as some critics thought the decorative nature of the designs was to prominent. However, over time, it was proven that the design of this range was a technical, visual and critical succes. It is interesting to point out that this set is very different from the other famous bent steel furniture range of Bertoia. Platner's range began with a sense of need for 'decorative, gentle, graceful' designs compartable to those of the time of Louis XV, but having a more rational base. Bertoia's range on the other hand was much more conceptual and was focussed on the strength of space division. Warren Platner (1919-2006) was originally trained as an architect a studied at Cornell University. Although Platner made notable architectural contributions throughout his career it was his furniture collection for Knoll that earned Platner worldwide renown. Originally introduced by Knoll in 1966, the Platner collection is an icon of modern furniture. In his early years Platner worked for the architect Eero Saarinen. Platner is famous for his refined and theatrical designs and he did not shy away for color. Knoll International was founded in New York by the 26 year old German Hans Knoll (1914-1955) in 1938. Hans' father, Walter Knoll was a true modernist and furniture manufacturer who had a reputation for quality. When Hans Knoll died at a young age his wife Florence Knoll took over and under her influence the company flourished and created its best designs. She designed and led the company where she cooperated with talented designers such as Eero Saarinen, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Richard Schultz and Harry Bertoia. Literature: - Lutz, Brain. Knoll. A modernist universe. New York: Rizolli, 2010, p. 166 - 167. - Larrabee, Eric and Massimo Vignelli. Knoll Design. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, 1981, 160 - 161. VAT within the EU: When buying or delivering an item within the EU, VAT usually applies and will be added.

Creator:
Warren Platner (Designer)
Design:
Platner Lounge ChairPlatner Series
Dimensions:
Height: 38.98 in (99 cm)Width: 41.34 in (105 cm)Depth: 35.44 in (90 cm)Seat Height: 16.93 in (43 cm)
Style:
Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Fabric,Steel
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
1960-1969
Date of Manufacture:
1966
Condition:
Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Waalwijk, NL
Reference Number:
Seller: 450117621stDibs: LU933118389162

Shop All Warren Platner

Warren Platner

Though his vintage furniture and interiors are icons of mid-century modernism, architect and furniture designer Warren Platner took his stylistic inspiration from as far back as 18th-century France, once saying about his seminal collection for Knoll that his design intent was to evoke “the kind of decorative, gentle, graceful kind of design that appeared in period style like Louis XV.”

Indeed, the marriage of modern sensibility and classical grace is a marker of Platner’s style across furnishings and interiors — both genres in which he left an enduring legacy.

Born in 1919 in Baltimore, Maryland, Platner studied architecture at Cornell before cutting his teeth working for design icons like Eero Saarinen and Kevin Roche, eventually serving as head of interior design in the latter’s office. In 1965, Platner opened his own office, in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he continued to hone his particular brand of graceful modernism.

Knoll released the Platner Collection of seating and tables in 1966. (Originally designed in 1962, the suite took nearly four years of development to bring to life.) The decorative bent-metal-and-glass pieces — an armchair, a dining table and more — make certain nods to the trademarks of his former employers, but also to the shapes of historic European furniture. The sculptural elegance of his line recalls Saarinen’s iconic Tulip collection, which includes armchairs and dining tables, while his materiality aligns with Roche’s cutting-edge use of glass and metal for the headquarters of the Ford Foundation in New York.

Many of Platner’s Knoll pieces would go on to find homes in a certain fabled locale: the Windows on the World restaurant at the original World Trade Center, whose interiors Platner was tapped to outfit in the mid-1970s. Upon the opening of the restaurant in 1976, New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger dubbed its style “sensuous modernism” — an apt tagline for Platner’s oeuvre as a whole.

Platner died in 2006 at the age of 86. His furniture is still produced by Knoll, and original examples — along with idiosyncratic custom works he created for interior design clients — are coveted by collectors today.

Find vintage Warren Platner furniture on 1stDibs.