™
606 Universal Shelving System™
Design Dieter Rams
“Vitsœ’s 606 Universal Shelving System…
… is the best shelving system
in the world… [and] is as much
a design classic as a Corbusier
recliner or an Eileen Gray table,
except that it escapes cliché…
It is the storage solution that
Charles and Ray Eames should
have designed, only they weren’t
German enough. Like my clothes,
it will last forever. Unlike them, it
will never embarrass me.”
Hugh Pearman
Design Week
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Timeless, movable and constantly evolving
For nearly half a century our aim at
Vitsœ has been to produce simple,
timeless products which will not
only encourage you to use and reuse them, but will also impel us to
invest continually, to our mutual
long-term benefit.
In our brochures we have
shamelessly set out to exploit
the goodwill, loyalty and wisdom
of some of our customers to
explain why even the most
hardened cynics can become
lifelong converts to this concept.
It may seem a perverse idea that
truly satisfied customers can
result from encouraging people to
buy less but to use it for longer.
The 606 Universal
Shelving System
has been produced
continually since
1960. It is timeless;
it moves with
you when you
move home; and
constant additions
and improvements
ensure that it
always caters for
today’s needs.
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Transcending fashion, style and taste…
…is vital in creating timeless
products.
Simplicity and flexibility – of
materials, colours and shapes –
has allowed us to create products
which are not only still in
production after forty years, but
which are used in an unusually
wide variety of surroundings.
Down in the West Country of
England we came across that
rare ideal of classic English eclecticism alive and well. Between
the patinated surfaces of a hardworking kitchen and the warmth
of the most comfortable dining
room, is the 606 Universal
Shelving System. Here entertaining is clearly an art-form. The
shelves stand discreetly in front
of a window, laden with a library
of well-thumbed cookery books.
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Simplicity and flexibility alone…
…do not guarantee timelessness.
The world is changing ever faster.
The demands are ever greater.
Darwinian principles are to the fore
in the battle to be amongst the
fittest. If a species does not evolve
and adapt in such an environment,
it will soon become extinct.
The design must not be allowed
to stand still – although original
principles can never be abandoned.
At Vitsœ we do not rest on our
laurels. We aim constantly to
refine. Some recent examples?
Shallower depth shelves for CDs,
videos and paperbacks; one
drawer cabinets for files or general
storage; a desk shelf for the
computer; and the addition of
non-slip bookends, in two heights.
The shallower
16cm deep shelf
is ideal for CDs,
videos and
paperbacks.
Economy of parts
A small number of
simple components
allows easy
assembly and
interchangeability.
X-Post
E-Track
Pin
Wedge
10
When an industrial designer makes a choice…
…about a product for his own use,
one sits up and takes notice.
The demands are extra, the
scrutiny intense. The product has
to do as much as possible, using
as little as possible, for the least
outlay. Above all, it must be
functional and it must be beautiful.
Is the metal Zintec galvanised
steel or simply mild steel? Is that
finish epoxy powder coated or
only stove enamelled? Is the
anodising AA15 or are you saving
money with AA5? Is that sandcast or did you do the proper thing
and die-cast?
Semi-wall mounted
and compressed
The system uses the
floor, wall and ceiling
to spread the load.
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You were given a magnificent set of china…
…by generous relatives. After only
four years of daily use, a few vital
items have succumbed to the
attraction of the kitchen floor.
You visit the reputable shop that
supplied them.
“Can I have some more of these?”
is your innocent question.
“Sorry – we’re not producing that
line any more. We’re onto this new
one now.”
But at Vitsœ we have long-standing
customers who frequently add
compatible components to their
shelving system. For example,
nearly every shelf on this and
the following page has moved
home – except for those (including
the drawer cabinets) added to
accommodate expanding needs.
But we are not content to cater
only for this generation. The 606
Universal Shelving System often
becomes an heirloom allowing a
new generation to expand the
system further whilst accommodating changing tastes and fashions.
Wall mounted
E-Tracks are fixed
directly to the wall
to achieve the
simplest and
strongest form
of the system.
An immaculate
re-interpretation
of the traditional
study.
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Whilst taking photographs…
…of an erudite journalist, we took
the liberty of asking for help. We
had distilled the Vitsœ philosophy
down to three headings but we
were struggling to go further.
“So, how do we condense into a
single phrase:
1) good design is long-lasting
2) take it with you when you move
and
3) the design never stands still?”
He paused pensively for all of ten
seconds while the camera clicked.
“What about: timeless, movable
and constantly evolving?”
Semi-wall mounted
The system uses
just the wall and
floor to spread
the load and avoid
obstructions.
Vitsœ does not
impose on your
life. You and your
personality come
to the fore.
Overleaf:
beech shelves
(36cm deep) are
combined with
metal shelves.
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Re-use. Re-cycle. What’s the difference?
The increasingly fashionable sales
mantra is ”our products can be
re-cycled.“ At Vitsœ we are more
concerned to ensure that our
products can be re-used, time
and again.
Every production process has an
environmental impact so we make
certain that our products last
longer. Simplicity, flexibility and
adaptability (and a determinedly
long-term attitude) ensure that
this is the case. Coincidentally
this means that, in the long run,
Vitsœ costs you less than cheaper
alternatives.
This belief in re-use even extends
to our packaging. When we
re-thought the packaging for our
metal shelves, we reduced
seventeen pieces of cardboard to
three in order to cut the cost and
achieve a carton that becomes
totally flat when not in use. We
are now able to return all of our
used cartons to our factory and
re-use them continually until they
are worn out – and then re-cycled.
Rules are meant
to be broken,
occasionally.
Multiple cross rails
with bespoke
panels allow a
flirtation with
fashion.
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66.7
91.2
Centre-to-centre
measurements
Combinations of the
esoteric 66.7cm and
91.2cm are all that
it takes to meet
almost every need.
We do not pander to passing fashion
We produce a limited range of
colours and materials. This helps
us to ensure supply for the future
but it also helps our products
to remain out of sight. Many
observers have called it ‘selfeffacement’.
(What an irony – spending your
money on something that is intent
on fading into the background.)
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We do not change the system for
reasons of fashion. Indeed, we are
happy to incur the wrath of the
short-term thinkers who constantly
want to know “What’s new?”. We
have proved that it is to everyone’s
long-term advantage.
But we do expect you to call us
and ask for help reconfiguring your
existing shelves. We do expect
you to ask us to dismantle, re-plan
and re-install your shelves in your
new home or office, or both. We
do expect you to opt to buy less
at the outset so that you can buy
more only as and when you need.
As Niels Vitsœ (1913 – 1995) used
to say, “Our happiest customers
are those who have owned Vitsœ
for the longest”.
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And finally…
“We all struggle to keep at bay
the avalanche of shoes, books,
newspapers, old toys, ancient
Christmas tree lights and retired
kettles that constantly threatens
to spill out of every corner of the
home to overwhelm us. Turn your
back on the domestic world for a
moment, and the armed truce that
we have with our possessions
turns instantly into open conflict.
Yet there is salvation at hand, an
evangelist has come among us,
dispensing instant calm in the
midst of domestic chaos. The
Vitsœ system brings with it such
an air of sanctity that you could be
forgiven for thinking that you were
buying spiritual enlightenment,
rather than a humble shelf.
But Vitsœ is not just any shelf.
This shelf is a ticket that gains
you admission to a better,
gentler world. It's a product of
the legendary German designer
Dieter Rams, the man who did
all that matt black stuff for Braun,
and a designer who has such a
famously well-developed sense
of visual order that he can't bear
to go on a country walk without
picking up every scrap of litter
he finds. His Vitsœ shelves are
a study in refined less-is-more
minimalism. With Vitsœ, he has
created the visual badge of a
secret society. Walk into a living
room, spot the tell-tale signs of
the metal legs, and you know
exactly the kind of people you are
dealing with. This is the shelving
that Richard Rogers has in his
own home, for heaven's sake.
This is the kind of minimalism
that doesn't need to raise its voice
to deafen you.
Deyan Sudjic
‘How to Spend it’, Financial Times
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As the system evolves, some details may differ from those shown/described.
Shelf with
hanging rail
For the wardrobe,
the hall, the office or
the shop (for clothes,
fabric samples, etc).
Metal shelf –
upside down
Reversing a shelf
creates uninterrupted
surfaces whilst
keeping big books
upright.
Bookend
Available in two
heights and with
non-slip base
to keep those
magazines in place.
Sloping shelf 79°
For near upright
display of large
format books,
magazines and
drawings. Magnetic.
Cabinet
Up and over door
Best for higher level
enclosed storage.
Metal shelf –
shallow
Infinite uses but
good here for
relieving the worksurface below of
its normal clutter.
Sloping shelf 18°
For display of
current magazines
or even for inclining
light boxes.
E-Track
Attaches either
directly to the wall
or to an X-Post (see
planning guide).
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Cabinet
Fold down door
For hiding what
needs to be hidden.
A removable back
accommodates Hi-Fi
wiring. Lockable.
Cabinet
Three drawers
Stationery,
cassettes, odds ‘n’
ends – even your
smalls.
Cabinet
Two drawers
Capacious drawers
especially good
for CDs, videos
or clothes.
Cabinet
One drawer
For files (any format)
bottles, toys, etc.
Also available with
lock.
Desk shelf
Complete with two
different depth surfaces. It may be used
either way up – here
for computer, keyboard
and mouse.
A4 tray
Combines well with
the desk shelf or
double shelf to provide a home for pens,
cheque books etc.
Desk shelf
With the deep surface on top, it is a
writing desk or laptop perch. Wires
and modem can be
hidden underneath.
Metal shelf – deep
Home for the printer,
scanner or fax.
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Thank you
Sophocles Maraveyas
Saul de Groen
Jeremy King
Debra Hauer
Ambassador John Pringle CBE
Gina, Malcolm and
Sachi Alexander
Ross Lovegrove
Miska Lovegrove
Jan Kaplicky
Josef Kaplicky
Amanda Levete
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Alan Jackson
Christine Costello
Design
Thomas Manss & Company
Countrywide Porter Novelli
Photography
Ken Kirkwood
Dada Rogers
Printing
Anderson Fraser
Delilah Wells
www.vitsoe.com
© Vitsœ 2000, E&OE
£3.00
Vitsœ
85 Arlington Avenue
London N1 7BA
Telephone +44 (0)20 7354 8444
Fax
+44 (0)20 7354 9888
E-mail
[email protected]