Vitsœ
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| Type | Limited |
|---|---|
| Industry | Furniture and home interiors |
| Founded | 4 September 1959 |
| Headquarters | London, UK |
| Website | www.vitsoe.com |
Vitsœ (alternatively, Vitsoe, pronounced Vit-soo) is an international modern-furniture company best known for making and retailing the 606 Universal Shelving System designed by Dieter Rams in 1960.
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[edit] Company history
Niels Wiese Vitsœ (1913–1995) was introduced to Dieter Rams by fellow designer Otto Zapf. In 1959 they founded a company called Vitsœ+Zapf to manufacture Rams's furniture designs. Although Rams was working for Braun at the time, Erwin and Artur Braun decided to allow him to work on side projects.
In 1970, the company was renamed 'Vitsœ' when Otto Zapf left the company.
Since 1995, the company and all manufacturing have been based in England.
In 2004 Vitsœ opened its flagship shop on Wigmore Street in London’s West End. In September 2009 Vitsœ opened its own New York shop on Bond Street in NoHo and in November 2009 relocated its London flagship to larger premises on Duke Street, off Manchester Square, London.
Vitsœ’s philosophy for over [50] years has been to help people 'live better with less that lasts longer'.[1]
[edit] 606 Universal Shelving System
"Vitsœ's 606 shelving 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 cliche"[2] Hugh Pearman
The 606 Universal Shelving System, created by the designer, Dieter Rams, in 1960, is a design classic. It’s a revolutionary way of building shelves - a modular system that can be used for one shelf or an entire library. It’s adjustable and extendable without tools and is fabricated in metal with simple, clean lines. Customers can add to their system slowly and seamlessly – a shelf at a time if they wish – as their needs change.[3]
The original 606 Universal Shelving System design was created by the company in 1960 and was the sixth design (60-6), which is where the name originates.
The 606 Universal Shelving System has won multiple awards for design excellence, and is part of the collection of The Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
For 50 years, it has been manufactured continuously and sold worldwide by Vitsœ.
[edit] 620 Chair Programme
"Today, 620 can safely be considered one of the few major furniture designs of the century, alongside those of Breuer, Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Aalto and Saarinen." Dr Hans Wichmann, 15 July 1971[4]
One of Vitsœ's most revolutionary and award winning products is the 620 Chair Programme.
Designed in 1962, the 620 is a modular chair which can be converted from a low back to a high back chair by the owner. The legs of the 620 can be removed and replaced with casters, a combination of legs and casters, or a swivel base. The arms of the chair are removable, and if desired, additional chairs can be connected to form a sofa of any desired length. All of the chair's upholstery is removable and replaceable.
The 620 won the Rosenthal Studio Prize in 1966 and a Gold Medal at the International Furniture Exhibition in Vienna in 1969. The chair has been a part of the Victoria and Albert Museum's permanent collection since 1970.
The 620 Chair Programme had only been on the market for seven years before it was copied. Court action was commenced in Germany and on 10 October 1973 the court substantiated: "The design of this chair is a personal, original creation of a highly aesthetic value." Accordingly the 620 Chair Programme was granted copyright protection and may be regarded as a work of art. On being asked in 2006 whether design could be regarded as art, Dieter Rams said, "The question is obsolete. Engineers can be artists. So can architects, gardeners or any other person skilled in their trade."[5]
The 620 Chair Programme was discontinued for over thirty years, but Vitsœ resumed production of the chair in 2006.
[edit] References
- ^ Design Council case study
- ^ Hugh Pearman, Design Week
- ^ Design Council case study
- ^ Dr Hans Wichmann, 15 July 1971
- ^ Court evidence, 1971
