USM Haller Lowboard XL, Customisable

The history of the USM Haller sideboard starts at the beginning of the sixties when the USM manager Ulrich Schärer planned a restructuring of the company into a modern industrial enterprise. He commissioned the architect Fritz Haller to design new offices and production spaces, including the development of the interior. Fritz Haller's response was to develop the now world famous USM Haller modular furniture system. Although developed exclusively for the new office facilities in 1969 Rothschild Bank requested units for their Paris offices; an order which marks the beginning of the mass production of USM units and so the furniture system's global success story. What made and makes USM Haller so special today is its modular design: a design composed from just three basic elements: chrome plated steel tubes are connected via chromed brass balls to form a basic structure in which panels of either metal or glass are inserted. Through this system it is possible to customise and adapt the USM Haller furniture system to meet the different requirements and conditions of any given space. And convert it at a later date as required. The configurable USM Haller lowboard XL, for example, can be equipped with drop-down doors or extension doors.

Production

All USM Haller component parts are produced at the company's Swiss headquarters in Münsingen. There the metal panels are powder coated in a modern, environmentally friendly process. In addition to the classic USM Haller white all USM units are also available in 14 other standard colours. Components intended for the German market are transported from Münsingen to Bühl in Baden-Württemberg and there assembled by trained staff. In individual cases, and as required, partly assembled units are transported to the customers location and assembled there. In addition to being aesthetically pleasing and highly practical USM Haller shelving units are also a very sustainable product. On the one hand because only high quality - and so durable - materials are used in the production and on the other because USM furniture can be customised to meet changing demands: as such there is, in theory, no need not to ever discard a piece of USM furniture.

USM was founded in 1885 by Ulrich Schärer and can thus look back on a long history. Established as a locksmith and hardware store the company moved first into the production of window coverings during the 1920s and later the fabrication of sheet metal products and general metal processing. The most fundamental turning point in the company's history came with the development of the Haller shelving system in the early 1960s. The resulting USM Haller Sideboards and other furniture quickly establishing themselves as one of the most innovative systems in furniture history. In 1992 USM ceased all other activities to concentrate fully on the production of the Sysem USM Haller modular furniture. With the opening of new production sites in France and the United States during the 1990s, the inclusion of brass connector ball in the permanent the collection of MoMA New York and finally the establishment of a headquarters in Japan USM have underscored the universal appeal of their furniture system.

Designer

Although Fritz Haller was principally active as an architect, his most famous work is a piece of furniture design - the USM Haller furniture system. A furniture system that is however clearly rooted in Haller's architectural background. During his studies Haller developed a functionalist approach to architecture and later built numerous schools, office buildings and industrial facilities in Switzerland based on functionalist principles, including in 1961new office and production facilities for USM in Münsingen near Bern. As part of the contract with USM Haller also designed office furniture, office furniture that not only revolutionised furniture design, is universally acknowledged as a design classic and is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, but which also graces homes and offices worldwide.

Historical Context

Fritz Haller developed his furniture system, as well as his buildings, true to the famous dictum "form follows function" and thus within the meaning of functionalism. From the days of Bauhaus Dessau "functionalism" became ever more important. At that time the focus was on craftsmanship, of developing the expressionist design approach as practised during the days of Bauhaus Weimar towards a more objective form, which, ideally, could be realised by industrial manufacturing processes. For functionalist the beauty in architecture and design was expressed from the functionality of an object. Some 40 years later this understanding of design reached its zenith in Haller's USM units. By focusing on the function the result is a strict and minimalist design that maintains it charm, elegance and raison d'etre regardless of trends and contemporary concepts of style.