USM Haller Storage Unit XL, Customisable

In 1961 the Swiss architect Fritz Haller planned and built new production and administrative buildings for USM in Münsingen; and in 1963 the Swiss architect Fritz Haller planned and installed new office furniture for his his new office pavilion. The USM Haller modular furniture systems. Following a 1969 commission to furnish the Paris offices of Rothschild Bank, USM Haller sideboards achieved a widespread interest and popularity, and quickly entered series production. In the following years the USM furniture system revolutionised the office world by supporting the popular philosophy of open-plan offices. In addition to the possibility to define spaces within the room, USM Haller pursues the idea of furniture as an active process rather than a static given. Accordingly, USM Haller storage and shelving units can always be adapted to changing needs and rebuilt if required. The USM Haller filing cabinet XL with consists of 15 units, the fronts of which can be left open or closed with flip-up doors, drop-down doors or extension doors. With a depth of 35 cm the USM Haller filing cabinet is, unsurprisingly, ideal for storing file folders.

Assembly of USM Haller units

Designer

Fritz Haller may be best known as a furniture designer; however, throughout his career he principally worked as an architect, and designed numerous primarily schools, office buildings and industrial facilities. His famous USM system was also developed in context of an architectural commission. Entrusted in the 1960s with the construction of new facilities for USM by company director Paul Schärer, Haller developed his shelving system as a suitable product for the company building. And so for the company's own use. However fate had other plans, and in the following years the USM Haller system would become one of the most successful modular furniture systems in design history. For his pioneering furniture design Fritz Haller received the numerous awards and saw his work added to the permanent collections of many renowned museums. Fritz Haller died in 2012 at the age of 87 in his native Switzerland.

USM Haller chest of drawers with 3 drawers

Manufacturer

The USM modular furniture system is the result of an atypical corporate history, an atypical corporate history which begins in 1885 with Ulrich Schärer establishing an ironmonger and locksmith business in his native in Münsingen near Bern. After adding the production production of first window fitting and shutters and later general sheet metal fabrication in 1963 USM produced furniture for use in the company's the new office pavilion. Designed by local architect Fritz Haller the steel furniture system was originally only intended for use in the USM offices; however in 1969 it entered series production and has since conquered the world. In 1988 USM Haller was evaluated in a judicial proceeding as a work of applied art, whereby the furniture designs are now protected by copyright.

An individual configuration of a USM filing cabinet XL

Production

USM Haller furniture is produced, as it always has been, in Münsingen in Switzerland. At the company's headquarters USM produces all metal parts, that is, the tubes for the furniture structure, the connector alls and the metal panels: panels which are subsequently powder coated in an environmentally responsible process in UMS's new powder coating facility. In addition to the classic USM Haller white all USM Haller units can be produced in a further 14 standard colours. Or customised colours for larger orders. The basic components are then either assembled in Münsingen or at one of the company's national factory's - units intended for the German market, for example, are assembled at the USM factory in Bühl, Baden-Württemberg. In the case of particularly large units, the assembly takes place directly at the customer. In addition to production and distribution processes intended to reduce the products environmental impact, USM Haller units are inherently environmentally responsible: their durable, modular nature meaning that the units can simply be re-configured as needs and moods change. And re-use always has been the best form of recycling

Fritz Haller (23. October 1924 - 15. October 2012)

Historical Context

The design of the USM Haller furniture system dates from the post-war period and is designed according to the principle s of the then prevailing movement: functionalism. Originating from the beginning of the 20th century and particularly advanced by the Bauhaus school, functionalism can be understood at its simplest as "form follows function". A philosophy which USM applies par excellence. The modular principle allows for the construction of furniture as an individual solution for a given specific situation. The focus of the function in the design leads to the clear, minimalist form of the Haller furniture: and endows the the design with a gracious timelessness. As a system USM Haller has ignored the ever changing trends and fashions of time and so today remains a modern and stylish furniture system for both offices and, in the form of chests of drawers, bedside tables and TV & media sideboards, increasingly also for the living area.

The USM headquarters in Münsingen