Dieter Rams Sideboard 606 Universal Shelving System for Vitsœ, Germany, 1965
View Similar Items
Dieter Rams Sideboard 606 Universal Shelving System for Vitsœ, Germany, 1965
About the Item
- Creator:Dieter Rams (Designer),Vitsoe (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 15.75 in (40 cm)Width: 108.27 in (275 cm)Depth: 9.26 in (23.5 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1965
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Munster, DE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1391215042482
Dieter Rams
German industrial designer Dieter Rams is revered for the pared-down, intuitive electronics and consumer goods he created for Braun — where he worked from 1955 to 1997, most of that time as chief design officer — and his timeless furniture for Vitsœ, a company with which he continues to collaborate today.
Less well known are Rams’s longstanding focus on sustainability and uneasy relationship with contemporary technology, even as Silicon Valley designers like Apple’s Jonathan Ive follow in his rational footsteps.
During Germany’s postwar rebuilding period, Rams and his team of designers at Braun, inspired by the Bauhaus and the Ulm School of Design, focused on extreme simplicity and usability while conceiving products with a modern, forward-looking appearance.
Among Rams’s most iconic designs is the SK 4 phonograph and radio, created in 1956, which had a compact white metal case topped by a revolutionary-at-the-time transparent Plexiglas lid that revealed simple gray controls inside (it was nicknamed Snow White’s Coffin). But it is the T3 portable radio, from 1958, that gets design aficionados most excited today: A white rectangular box with a perforated square for the speaker and a circular-dial control, it bears an unmistakable resemblance to Apple’s original iPod. (Many people also note that the iPhone’s calculator app looks remarkably similar to the Braun ET 66 calculator, with its circular color-coded buttons.)
In the late 1970s, Rams laid out his widely studied 10 principles for good design: It is innovative, makes a product useful, is aesthetic, makes a product understandable, is unobtrusive, is honest, is long lasting, is thorough down to the last detail, is environmentally friendly and is as little design as possible.
One of Rams’s principles that hasn’t translated to our contemporary era is his emphasis on longevity. “The time of thoughtless design and thoughtless consumption is over,” he said in 1976, stressing the need to conserve natural resources — even as he was busy designing plastic products.
Rams has also expressed reservations about how electronics have evolved in recent decades from tools for improving life to time-sucking obsessions. “Every time he crosses a street and sees people glued to their phones, he just can’t conceive of how we got to this point,” says filmmaker Gary Hustwit, whose feature-length documentary on Rams debuted in 2018. “I think he’s a little bit saddened by all this work they did in the fifties and sixties, which had a very idealistic point of view, being a stepping stone to where we are now, and the current lust for technology.”
If digital devices sometimes seem to be making life more complicated, Rams’s precept remains the same as always: “Back to purity, back to simplicity.”
Find vintage Dieter Rams furniture on 1stDibs.
- Dieter Rams Lounge Chair + Ottoman Swivel Base by Vitsœ Leather 1962 MinimalBy Dieter Rams, VitsoeLocated in Munster, NRWLounge Chair + Ottoman from the chair program 620 - designed by Dieter Rams for Vitsoe, Germany in 1962. The pictured Lounge Chair and its Ottoman were purchased around 2000 and ha...Category
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather
- Aldo Tura Sideboard Red Goatskin Highboard Brass Details Hollywood Regency ItalyBy Atelier Tura, Aldo TuraLocated in Munster, NRWIncredibly impressive sideboard made of lacquered goatskin in a warm shade of red, designed by Aldo Tura in Italy 1962. On the right, it has 5 drawers, next to which is a compartme...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsBronze
- Antoine Philippon Jacqueline Lecoq Sideboard by Behr 1962 Pointe De DiamantBy Behr, Antoine Philippon and Jacqueline le CoqLocated in Munster, NRWHighboard with diamond shaped doors (Pointe de Diamant) designed by Antoine Philippon and Jacqueline Lecoq. Manufactured by Behr, Germany in 1962. From first possession, provenance:...Category
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsNickel
- Florence Knoll Sideboard Wall Mounted 1952 Seagrass Teak by Knoll InternationalBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Munster, NRWExtremely rare wall-hung sideboard (Mod°123) from 1952, designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll International - this version was produced in 1952 in a small edition by Knoll in Stuttgar...Category
Vintage 1950s German Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsSeagrass, Teak
- Three-Legged Chair Design Dieter Waeckerlin for IdealheimBy Dieter WaeckerlinLocated in Munster, NRWThree-legged chair design Dieter Waeckerlin for Idealheim. Beautifully designed chair from the 1960s. Rare three-legged construction upholstered with green imitation leather. There ...Category
Antique 1660s German Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsChrome
- Vitra Planophore Bookshelf Roomdivider Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby Jean ProuvéBy Vitra, Edward Barber and Jay OsgerbyLocated in Munster, NRWEdward Barber and Jay Osgerby have designed Planophore 2014 for Vitra as a dual-purpose - room divider and bookshelf. Its open sides create a horizontal emphasis underscored by the solid shelves with rounded bottom edges, which are reminiscent of aircraft wings and appear to float on the vertical panels. This also explains the name of the shelf: the original Planophore made its debut in 1871 as the first stable model aeroplane...Category
2010s German Modern Sideboards
MaterialsAluminum
- 606 Shelving system, Dieter Rams for VitsœBy Dieter RamsLocated in Neuss, NWModular 606 shelving system by Dieter Rams for Vitsœ from the 1960s. High-quality construction consisting of four aluminium E Tracks, four shelves and one container with sliding door...Category
Antique 1660s German Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsAluminum
- 606 Shelving system, Dieter Rams for VitsœBy Dieter RamsLocated in Neuss, NWModular 606 shelving system by Dieter Rams for Vitsœ from the 1960s. High-quality construction consisting of two aluminium E Tracks and four shelves. Quality Features: very good...Category
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsAluminum
- 606 Shelving system, Dieter Rams for VitsœBy Dieter RamsLocated in Neuss, NWArticle Details Modular 606 shelving system by Dieter Rams for Vitsœ from the 1960s. High-quality construction consisting of eight aluminum E-Tracks, eleven shelves and three contai...Category
Antique 1660s German Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsAluminum
- Grandeur Mid-Century German vintage Sideboard by Ernst Dieter Hilker for OmniaBy Omnia, Ernst Dieter HilkerLocated in Gaggenau, DEThe high-quality highboard was produced by the manufacturer Omnia in the 1960s. The furniture was designed in terms of dimensions and layout for plenty of storage space and offers p...Category
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsTeak
- Dresser, Solid Walnut, Handmade in Organic Design, Germany, Also as a SideboardBy Eckehard WeimannLocated in Dietmannsried, BavariaSolid wood chest of drawers "the groove" in organic design. Created by the German carpenter and sculptor Eckehard Weimann. The body is organically w...Category
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsWood, Walnut
- Minimalist Alfred Hendrickx Small Sideboard for Belform, Belgium 1962By Belform, Alfred HendrickxLocated in Antwerp, BESmall minimalist sideboard by Hendrickx, Belform 1962, Belgium. Small cabinet with one adjustable shelve and three dovetail drawers. Its finished with square metal doorknobs and a ni...Category
Vintage 1960s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsSycamore
$1,583 Sale Price20% Off