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Knoll Designer Bios

Marc Held

Marc Held established his Paris-based design firm Archiform in 1960. In 1972, interested in the potential role of kinetics in modern furniture, Held designed a rocking lounge chair for Knoll. Based on the assumption that walking is less tiring than sitting still, the intention of Held’s chair was to relieve the muscular strain induced by motionlessness. The resulting design, with its curved base that could both rock and swivel, kept the user’s body in constant motion.

Although he never fully moved away from product design, Held focused on his career after 1974 as an independent architect, largely exploring the relationship between vernacular and modern architecture.