MillerKnoll's renovated flagship in New York opens doors to design experiences

This week, MillerKnoll’s opens the doors to its reimagined New York flagship, which includes a new gallery space that will serve as a global stage for design dialogue.

Set within the former location of George Nelson’s studio on Park Avenue South (a location that has served as the company's public space since the 1940s), the showroom embodies MillerKnoll's mission to preserve its design legacy while connecting its audience with contemporary creativity through innovative design conversations.

'This space underscores the company’s commitment to using design as a catalyst for human connection,' reads a note introducing the reimagined showroom, and the inaugural exhibition reflects this vision.

For the gallery's debut, the company chose a project originally presented at Triennale Milano in 2024: Walking Sticks and Canes is an exhibition curated by Japanese designer Keiji Takeuchi, who invited designers to create a walking stick that answered the question: 'How can we change a stigma into a purposeful product that makes you want to go outside and walk with your friends again?’ 

Takeuchi asked 19 designers to reinterpret the walking stick, 'not as a tool but as a gesture of movement and connection.' The group includes Herman Miller collaborators Jasper Morrison and Cecilie Manz alongside international designers such as Julie Richoz and Marialaura Irvine.

'Our role is to open doors to design experiences that aren’t always accessible,' says Kelsey Keith, Creative Director at MillerKnoll. 'Bringing Walking Sticks & Canes to New York connects people to these designers’ work and draws a line from very big questions to detailed, tactile answers. We’re also rethinking our showrooms as spaces where design becomes a living, evolving practice: something to experience.'

This focus on design for living is all the more poignant as it sits within MillerKnoll's creative ecosystem. Set over 11 floors and more than 77,000 square feet, this is the first space in the United States to combine contract showrooms and retail stores from Knoll and Herman Miller, as well as brands from the group that include, Muuto, Maharam and Hay.

MillerKnoll, 251 Park Ave S, New York, NY 10010