Contract Spotlights Knoll Houston Showroom

Contract featured the newly opened Knoll showroom in Houston, Texas, in its March 2016 issue. Designed by Architecture Research Office, the 8,000 square-foot showroom turns a "keen eye to the future," Contract writes, demonstrating how "the same forces that influence the workplace decisions of other progressive companies" can shape showroom design. 

Working closely with Knoll, ARO designed the space to showcase a variety of cleverly planned workspaces, including work areas, meeting rooms, informal gathering areas, and dispays. The space, Contract writes, "ultimately functions as a living lab in which Knoll classics, such as Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Chairs in the reception area or Eero Saarinen's Tulip Chairs in a conference room, seamlessly play off new Knoll furnishings, textiles, and other products." Bespoke wallcoverings, spatial dividers and ceiling treatments make creative use of products by Knoll affiliates FilzFelt and Spinneybeck, while brass detailing and terrazzo floors convey a particularly Texan brand of modern luxury.

This is the third showroom that ARO has designed for Knoll, joining locations in New York City and San Francisco. The Houston showroom occupies the ninth floor of the San Felipe office tower in Houston's River Oaks neighborhood. Read the feature in Contract here.

Photography: Bob O'Connor

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