Olivetti Bookcases

“Shelving can be the most mundane thing you own, or it can be the beautiful bones of a room as pleasing to see as anything it displays. Casey Lurie’s Primo system would be the latter.” William L. Hamilton, The wall street journal The Primo shelving system is composed of notched solid wood planks...

Studio BBPR for Olivetti, 'Spazio' sideboard, coated steel, plastic, vinyl, Italy, design 1959/60, production 1960s In 1954, Olivetti, the Italian office equipment manufacturer, hired BBPR to design their New York showroom on Fifth Avenue and to create their first series of office furniture, called Spazio (1959/60). This line included chairs, shelving, cabinet systems, and desks, just like the one shown here. It won the Compasso d'Oro Award in 1962. The cabinet contains compartments with drawers secured on both sides. The top is furnished with dark brown vinyl which adds a sturdy touch the overall industrial appearance. Studio B.B.P.R. was an Italian architectural partnership founded in Milan in 1932 by Gianluigi Banfi (1910-1945), Lodovico Barbiano di Belgiojoso (1909-2004), Enrico Peressutti (1908-1976) and Ernesto Nathan Rogers (1909-1969) who had studied at the Politecnico di Milano. B.B.P.R. was thus an acronym formed from the first letters of their family names. The architects found each other in their opposition to fascism in Italy in the 1930s and 1940s during Mussolini's autocratic regime. The architects therefore believed in developing a style that would have no references to contemporary politics. During the Second World War, they all joined the resistance. However, Rogers, a Jew, fled to Switzerland and both Belgiojoso and Banfi were deported to the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, where Banfi died in 1945. Despite the immense loss of Banfi, their architectural practice continued in the same name as before after...

“Shelving can be the most mundane thing you own, or it can be the beautiful bones of a room as pleasing to see as anything it displays. Casey Lurie’s Primo system would be the latter.” William L. Hamilton, The wall street journal The primo shelving system is composed of notched solid wood planks...

Studio BBPR for Olivetti, 'Spazio' side table cabinet, metal, plastic, fabric, Italy, design 1959/60, production 1960s In 1954, Olivetti, th...

A refined example of Swedish mid‑century functionalism, this “Reform” shelving system by Skaraborgs Möbelindustri (Tibro) brings together clean architectural lines, warm materials, a...

Mid-Century sideboard from the "Arco" series by Studio BBPR for Olivetti - Italy 1960s.

Studio BBPR for Olivetti, 'Spazio' sideboard, coated steel, plastic, glass, vinyl, Italy, design 1959/60, production, 1960s. In 1954, Olivetti, the Italian office equipment manufact...

Large modular bookcase composed by movable black painted shelves and wood uprights with brass feet. More uprights and shelves available.

Studio BBPR for Olivetti, 'Spazio' side table or cabinet, coated steel, vinyl, plastic, Italy, design 1959/60, production 1960s In 1954, Olivetti, the Italian office equipment manu...

Large Mid-Century Italian wooden hanging bookcase, designed in the 1950s for the study of an important residence in central Italy. This is an elegant bookcase, very refined in the s...

Shelving System made from stainless Steel. Germany 2022. A modular shelving system that can be arranged over four levels (Low Board to Bookshelf). The shelves and uprights are conne...

Cool and practical modular bookcase system by Mogens Koch, made from Oregon pine. It includes eight sections that can be combined in various ways. There are three bases for the botto...