MillerKnoll has unveiled its new 12,000-square-foot archives facility at its Michigan Design Yard headquarters, offering a comprehensive and unprecedented view into the legacy of modern design. This purpose-built space now serves as the permanent home to over one million historical objects from iconic brands including Herman Miller, Knoll, and others within the MillerKnoll collective.
The new archives are divided into three core areas: an exhibition gallery, open storage, and a reading room. This state-of-the-art environment is designed to serve internal teams as well as external researchers, including architects, designers, curators, and academics. It not only preserves the design legacies of these storied brands but also encourages new innovation rooted in the past.
'Bringing together the Herman Miller and Knoll archival collections has been an incredible privilege,' said Amy Auscherman, Director of Archives and Brand Heritage at MillerKnoll. 'It has been the opportunity of a lifetime to collaborate across brands to unite our shared history, preserve our culture of innovation, and ensure these important design legacies remain accessible for generations to come.'
MillerKnoll partnered with New York-based consultancy Standard Issue to realise the project, creating a physical and intellectual space for exploration and inspiration.
The archives' inaugural exhibition, Manufacturing Modern, offers a thematic overview of the companies' intertwined histories, showcasing landmark works by trailblazing designers such as Florence Knoll, George Nelson, Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, Harry Bertoia, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Marcel Breuer. These exhibits trace the origins and impact of Modernism, which defined both Herman Miller and Knoll's design ethos.
'The debut of the MillerKnoll Archives invites our communities to experience design history – and imagine its future – in one dynamic space,' added Ben Watson, Chief Creative and Product Officer. 'The ability to not only understand how iconic designs came to be, but how design solutions evolved over time, is a never-ending source of inspiration.'
In open storage, visitors can explore over 300 pieces of furniture spanning from the 1920s to the present, including standout items such as a rare Knoll Womb® Chair prototype gifted by Eero Saarinen to his mother; groundbreaking 1933 World's Fair designs by Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller; and pieces by Isamu Noguchi and Florence Knoll. Complementing these are wall-mounted art displays featuring works by Charles and Ray Eames, Herbert Matter, George Nelson, and the Vignellis.
Adjacent to this, the reading room holds more than 250 linear feet of archival documentation. Among the highlights are memoranda on George Nelson's first Herman Miller collection, original drawings for the Eames® Lounge Chair and Ottoman, and Florence Knoll's layout paste-ups for her iconic interiors.
Public tours will launch in July and August in collaboration with the Cranbrook Art Museum, and in October with Docomomo. Tour details are available via the Cranbrook Art Museum.
More information:
MillerKnoll
www.millerknoll.com