In 1955, when 23-year-old Dieter Rams began designing for the German product brand Braun, most homes and stores were still outfitted with the bulky wooden shelves and cabinetry of yore. But when Rams was asked to reimagine a Braun showroom, his sketch featured a new sort of display system: streamlined wall mounted shelves that elevated goods off the floor, achieving visual lightness. Around 1960, after further experimentation, Rams proposed the design to Niels Vitsœ and Otto Zapf for their new brand, Vitsœ+Zapf, shortened to Vitsœ in 1969. Enter the 606 Universal Shelving System: off-white steel shelves and beech cabinets attached to aluminum tracks fixed to walls. In Rams’s words, “Less, but better.”
Made in Germany until 1995, when production was moved to the U.K., the system took some time to catch on. It was sold here and there via German dealers until Vitsœ opened its first stand-alone showroom in 1970. In ’76, American textile dealer Jack Lenor Larsen offered the system in his New York showroom, to little success (it was mostly used to display fabrics). It wasn’t until a fax arrived in 1997 from downtown New York design dealer Murray Moss that Vitsœ found a foothold in the American market, now its biggest.
Over the years, the design—it now comes in black and silver as well—was subtly perfected. Still, a part made in 1961 fits seamlessly into a system bought today. Mark Adams, Vitsœ’s managing director since 1986, calls it “backward-forward compatibility,” quipping, “It’s like Legos for grown-ups.”
Rams’s 90th birthday was in May, and the 606 system is more popular than ever. Jenna Lyons has it in her much-Instagrammed SoHo loft. Eva Chen mounted the shelves in her Connecticut country house. AD100 fans include Patrick Mele and The Archers. “We love how smart the system is,” says lighting designer Lindsey Adelman, whose setup in Brooklyn contains a vast record collection and several custom components for her husband’s DJ’ing needs. “You wouldn’t think there’d be a soul to such minimalism, but you can feel it.”
