USM Haller Storage Unit L, Customisable

The USM construction principle is based around three elements from which a complete furniture family can be constructed. Steel tubes linked by chrome plated brass balls form the skeleton which is the clad with coloured steel panels to complete the unit. Or if required is clad with glass panels to complete the unit. The USM Haller spectrum ranges from simple shelving structures, such as the popular USM Haller sideboards or the USM Haller filing cabinet L and onto more complex storage solutions such as the USM Haller tables and mobile containers. Originally the architect Fritz Haller developed the USM furniture in 1963 as an interior furnishing for a new USM office building. However, a major contract to furnish the Rothschild Bank in Paris, lead in 1969 to the series production. And so his continuing success story of USM Haller. Characteristic of the USM Haller modular shelves is the clearly defined, minimalist design and the classically elegant effect caused by light reflecting on the shiny surfaces.

Mechanical assembly of a USM skeleton

Designer

Although best known today for the USM furniture system, Fritz Haller always considered himself principally as an architect. Born in Solothurn, Switzerland in 1924 Fritz Haller trained as first a draughtsman and subsequently an architect. A great influence on his approach to architecture came from year he spent in Rotterdam where he worked with Willem van Tijen and Berend Bakema, two of the most important representatives of post war modernism. Fritz Haller largely planned larger scale buildings such as schools, office buildings and industrial facilities - all characterised by a functionalism accent and a tendency to systematisation. His most famous work, the USM Haller furniture, was created in 1963. And almost by accident. Having been commissioned in 1961 to built a new office pavilion for USM, Fritz Haller then also created the office furniture. The USM Haller furniture system remained the only commercial furniture design, but made ??him famous worldwide. Fritz Haller died in October 2012 in Solothurn.

USM Haller furniture: a timeless design classic.

Manufacturer

The USM filing cabinet L has a long history. In 1885 Ulrich Schärer established USM as a locksmith and hardware store in the Swiss village of Münsingen. Following the addition of window fitting and general sheet metal fabrication to the company's portfolio the decisive moment in the company's history came in 1961. Looking to place the company on a solid base for the future Ulrich Schärer's grandson Paul Schärer commissioned local architect Fritz Haller with the construction of new production and administrative facilities. And office furniture for the new buildings. The resulting USM Haller modular furniture system has been serially produced in Münsingen since 1969. And its global popularity is attested to by the presence of USM flagship stores in locations as far removed from the Swiss Alps as Tokyo or New York.

USM filing cabinet

Production

Developed in the 1960s in the Swiss village of Münsingen USM Haller units are still largely produced in the same workshops. All USM basic building blocks are produced in Münsingen where the metal panels are also powder coated in one of the 15 standard USM colours. Final assembly of the units is then either carried out in Münsingen or in one of USM's global factories. Units intended for the German market, for example, are assembled in the USM factory in Bühl, Baden-Württemberg. The transport of unassembled parts being space-saving and thus ecologically meaningful. And as a company USM understands its environmental responsibility in many ways. All manufacturing processes are planned from an environmental perspective, focusing, for example, on a reduction of CO2 emissions both during the production and subsequent distribution. In addition the USM modular furniture system is, with its very long product cycle, inherently sustainable. And safe. USM furniture having been awarded the Greenguard Indoor Air Quality Certificate, thus guaranteeing a healthier indoor environment.

Fritz Haller not only designed the USM furniture system, but also USM office and factory buildings.

Historical Context

Fritz Haller developed both his furniture system and his buildings, true to the famous dictum "form follows function" and thus true to the principles of functionalism. As an architecture and design principle functionalism first reached a popularity at Bauhaus Dessau. At that time the expressionist led design approach from the Weimar period developed towards an objective form, which should be preferably be produced by industrial manufacturing processes rather than traditional handicraft. The beauty in architecture and design, according to the functionalists, should result from the functionality of an object. not decorative elements. Forty years later this understanding can be perfectly seen in Fritz Haller's USM units. By focusing on the function the result is a strict and minimalist design which combines function with form. And so the perfect office furniture solution.

USM headquarters in Münsingen, Switzerland