Home New Zealand – August 01, 2019

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Forever relevant

Plannedobsolescenceis anathematoDieterRams andVitsœ,

the companythatmakeshisclassicfurnitureat its low-energy

headquarters in central England.

TextMichael Moore-JonesPhotographyDirk Lindner

OpenyouriPhonecalculatorandyou’relooking
ata versionofthecalculatorthatGermandesigners
DieterRamsandDietrichLubsdevelopedforBraun
in1980.It’sa modernclassic:heldinthepermanent
collectionattheMuseumofModernArtinNew
York.Thefunctional,clearandevenbeautifuldesign
issodifficulttoimproveonthatApple’sdesigners
wereleftsimplypayinghomage.Whatirony,then,
thatouriPhoneswillbarelylastthreeyearswhile
Braun’scalculatorsarestillgoingstrongalmost
40 yearslater.Apple’sdesignersborrowedRams’
aesthetic,butnothisethic.
Atleastonecompanyisstillcommittedtoboth.
Vitsœ(pronouncedvit-soo)isa somewhatparadoxical
company.FoundedinGermanybyNielsVitsœ,
a Dane,itskeyproduct– oneofonlythreethatit
makes– isa flexibleshelvingsystemsounderstated
thatit existsmerelytohighlighttheobjectsplacedon
it.Vitsœis a companythatdoesn’tmindbeinginvisible,
likeitsshelves;butthenagain,you’veprobablyseen
theseshelvesmanytimeswithoutrecognisingthem.
Calledthe‘606UniversalShelvingSystem’,they’re
theonesthathouseyourarchitect-friend’sbooks
andceramics,andwhichadornthewallsofsomany
Instagrammablemid-centuryhouses.
Everypartisinterchangeable,soit’sa shelfas
‘system’.Youbuyverticalbracketsthatattachdirectly
tothewall.Betweenthese,youfitthinmetalshelves
orcabinetry.Youcanstartwitha smallshelvingunit
andaddtoit asrequired;youcanreplaceindividual
partsiftheywearout;andyoucanpackthemand
takethemwithyouwhenyoumove– allofthisis
Vitsœ’ssalespitch.Becauseoftheirflexibility,I’ve
heardit saidsardonicallythatVitsœ’sshelvesare
themostdivorce-friendlyfurnitureintheworld.
ThethreeproductsthatVitsœmakes– shelves,
the‘620Chair’,andthe‘621Table’(thelatestaddition)

• weredesignedbyDieterRams,themanbehindso
  many of Braun’s 20th-century designs. Clocks, shavers,

coffeemachinesandtoasters,Ramsdesignedthem

allwitha clean,unclutteredaestheticandthebelief

that,ifmadewellenough,consumerproductscould

improvetheworld.Plannedobsolescenceisanathema

toRams.Ifa productisgood,it shouldlast.Thiswas

theethoswithwhichNielsVitsœbegansellingRams’

homefurnituredesignsfromthelate1950s.

Thesedays,theshelveswouldbecalled

environmentallyfriendly,butyouwon’tseeVitsœ

explainingthis.AsMarkAdams,thecompany’s

eloquentmanagingdirectorsays,“Recyclingisdefeat”.

Adamswasonly 24 whenhequita lucrativeofficejob

tojoina furniturestorethathappenedtosellsome

of Vitsœ’sproducts.Forhim,Vitsœisfarmorethan

a furniturecompany– it’sa “servicebusinessthat

justhappenstomakesomeproducts”,hesays.And

althoughhe’dneversayit (thecompany’sunderstated

philosophyanda doseofEnglishreservewould

preventhim),themeasureofsuccessforVitsœseems

tobemoreabouthowfarit canspreaditsphilosophy

of‘Livingbetter,withless,thatlastslonger’,than

howmanyproductsit sells.

Vitsœisnottheonlycompanyproducinglong-

lasting,flexibleshelves.SwedishcompanyLundia

hasa wood-basedsystemthathasbeensoldthrough

a NewZealand-ownedsubsidiaryformanyyears.It’s

slightlylessflexible,buttheuseofnaturalmaterials

haslongspokentodesignaffinitiesbetweenNew

ZealandandScandinavia.Onesignificantdifference

betweenthetwocompaniesisthatVitsœsellstothe

consumerdirectlythroughtheirwebsite:youcan’t

gotoa storeandbuyproducts.However,ifyousend

thema photoofyourwall,Vitsœ’splannerswilldesign

shelvingcombinationsforyou.Thedirect-to-consumer

approachhasfurtherhelpedVitsœreducewaste.

AsI walkedaroundVitsœ’sbeautifulfactory–

usuallyanoxymoron– mythoughtsturnedtoNew

Zealand.I recognisedsomethinginVitsœ’shonestand

direct use of materials – the building is exposed timber,