Dieter Rams 606 Universal Shelving System '2'
View Similar Items
Dieter Rams 606 Universal Shelving System '2'
About the Item
- Creator:Dieter Rams (Designer),Vitsoe (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 47.25 in (120 cm)Width: 78.35 in (199 cm)Length: 47.25 in (120 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:RHEEZERVEEN, NL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1906312806822
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.
- Delft Wall Shelves Constant Nieuwenhuys for 't Spectrum, NetherlandsBy 't Spectrum Bergeijk, Constant NieuwenhuysLocated in RHEEZERVEEN, OverijsselRed metal wire wall shelves by Dutch designer and Cobra co-founder Constant Nieuwenhuys for Dutch him 't Spectrum. Nieuwenhuys was a talented artist and is well known for his work as...Category
Vintage 1950s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsMetal
- Poul Kjaerholm Nesting Tables PK 71 for E. Kold Kristensen, DenmarkBy Poul Kjærholm, E. Kold ChristensenLocated in RHEEZERVEEN, OverijsselSet of three elegant and minimalist designed nesting tables by Pool Kjaerholm for E. Sold Christensen. The material used is reduced to an absolute minimum, no screws or bolts are use...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Nesting Tables and Stacking Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Friso Kramer's Miniature Revolt Chair for Ahrend, NetherlandsBy Ahrend de CirkelLocated in RHEEZERVEEN, OverijsselMiniature Revolt chair in black plastic with the scaled dimensions 1: 6 compared to the original chair. The chair comes in the original box and is easy to assemble.Category
Early 2000s European Mid-Century Modern Models and Miniatures
MaterialsAcrylic, Paper
- Flush Mount Pendant in Smoked GlassLocated in RHEEZERVEEN, OverijsselSimple, round ceiling light in grey smoked glass. The glass bulb is attached to a brass colored fixture. Can also be used as wall light.Category
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
MaterialsAluminum
$436 / item - Cricket Lamp R60 by Otto Wach for RAAK Amsterdam, NetherlandsBy Otto WachLocated in RHEEZERVEEN, OverijsselThe cricket lamp model R60 by designer Otto Wach is made of a polished metal tube containing two metal pins. By adjusting these metal pins the lamp can be put in different positions....Category
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Star Shower Wall Sconce by Jelle Jelles for RAAK, AmsterdamBy Jelle Jelles, RAAKLocated in RHEEZERVEEN, OverijsselThese 1960s metal wall sconces also known as model C1624 were designed by Jelle Jelles for RAAK, Amsterdam. The perforated metal brings a spectacular ligh...Category
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsSheet Metal
- 606 Shelving system, Dieter Rams for VitsœBy Dieter RamsLocated in Neuss, NWModular shelving system 606 by Dieter Rams for Vitsœ from the 1960s. High-quality construction consisting of two aluminum E profiles, three shelves and rare RZ-57 integrated table wi...Category
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsAluminum
- Machine Shelving SystemBy AKMDLocated in Chicago, ILThe Machine leg shelving System is a versatile design that pairs fully customizable solid wood shelves with sturdy cast aluminum vertical supports. The...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Shelves
MaterialsAluminum
$17,375 - Freestanding shelving systemBy Kurt ØstervigLocated in Copenhagen, DKFreestanding shelving system of two bays with oak legs/frames and teak shelves and cabinets. Kurt Østervig / KP Møbler.Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Shelves
MaterialsOak, Teak
$5,913 - Porthole Shelving System, Handcrafted Modern Solid Wood Shelving SystemBy Phloem StudioLocated in Stevenson, WAThe Porthole Shelving System was originally designed for an audio lover's records, but it’s not just for vinyl records: it fits art books and whatever ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Shelves
MaterialsHardwood
- Cubitech Style Shelving SystemBy Design Within ReachLocated in Chicago, ILc. 2000s. In the style of the DWR cubitech shelving unit. clear plastic with modular connections so you can change shape.Category
Early 2000s Unknown Post-Modern Shelves
MaterialsPlastic
- Dowel system tiered shelving unitLocated in Los Angeles, CAW17 D17 H42 BETWEEN SHELVES 11 Fully restored solid oak shelving unit. Shelving units consists of solid oak pieces that can be fully disassembled but come together tightly with dowe...Category
Vintage 1980s Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsOak
$1,025 / item