Pure Florence Knoll

Mairi Beautyman -- Interior Design, 10/1/2004 12:00:00 AM

An architect, an interior space planner, a furniture designer, and a pioneer in making corporate American style international, she has yet to be honored by a major museum retrospective. That's changing when the Philadelphia Museum of Art unveils "Florence Knoll Bassett: Defining Modern." The 300-square-foot installation, which she designed herself, will display 11 pieces of her furniture as well as photographs of her corporate interiors, including the CBS Broadcasting and Seagram's offices in New York and Heinz headquarters in Pittsburgh. November 17–April 10; 215-763-8100; philamuseum.org.

Coinciding with the opening of the exhibit, she is also to receive the 2004 Design Excellence Award from nonprofit Collab: The Group for Modern and Contemporary Design.