606 Universal Shelving System

The power of good design

In the man-made world, everything
has been designed. Everything.
Somewhere, somehow, the idea has
taken hold that only certain objects
have been designed. At Vits we
stand for the inordinate power of
good design in everything we do:
designing thoughtfully, responsibly
and intelligently for our company,
our furniture and the many people
who share a profound interest in all
of our tomorrows.
For over 50 years,
Vitss furniture
has been designed
by Dieter Rams.
Today he continues
to oversee his
brainchild, working
closely with Vitss
managing director,
Mark Adams, as the
furniture is evolved
and new markets
are developed.

Vits was founded back in 1959 Today that company is increasingly

with the simple, common-sense
notion of designing down-to-earth
furniture that could be used for as
long as possible.
The idea was that discreet,
adaptable and faithful furniture
would encourage customers to
start by buying a small amount
and then adding to it as their
lives developed.
seen as an exemplar and has
been used as a subject in recent
case studies for good design,
innovation, customer service,
and sustainability.
Which is reassuring because
Vits continues to deploy an
unfashionable business tool:
common sense.

Better still, those customers

would take it with them when they
moved, rearranging it as necessary.
Before long it was clear that
customers evident satisfaction
was derived from their ability to
live better, with less, that was
lasting longer.

vitsoe.com/when 1
 606 Universal Shelving System

Designed by Dieter Rams in 1960,

the 606 Universal Shelving System
was conceived to be timeless. You
can add a single shelf to a system
bought decades ago and take it Narrow bay Wide bay
with you when you move.
66.7cm (26") 91.2cm (35 7 8")

At the core of the shelving system

is the aluminium E-Track that can
be attached directly to the wall.
Shelves, cabinets and tables are
hung from the E-Track using no
tools by simply slipping the
notched aluminium pins into place.

The interchangeability of the

components encourages either
day-to-day rearrangements or
complete reconfigurations.

See how the Wall mounted Semi-wall mounted Compressed

system works at You can attach E-Tracks directly
vitsoe.com/how
to your wall in any combination
of the two bays, shown above.
The system can be attached to
almost all types of wall. Please
ask us for advice.
If your wall is obstructed or slightly
uneven, the E-Track may be
attached to an X-Post and stood
in front of the wall, held upright
by adjustable wall brackets.
If you have no wall nearby, the
E-Track may be attached to one
or both sides of the X-Post and
compressed between the floor
and ceiling. We can give you
advice regarding acceptable
ceiling heights, loadings etc.

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 Five reasons
Over the years there is one comment
we have heard more than any other
from our customers: I wish I had
bought from you sooner. As we do
not like regret, we give you the first
of five reasons not to suffer.

An ingenious kit of parts

While kit and parts need

not get any of us excited, there
are virtues to behaving like
Meccano or Lego. As you will
remember, you were able to
create all manner of inventions
from whichever set of building
blocks that took your fancy.

Now, as a grown-up, you can

arm yourself with tracks, shelves,
cabinets and tables to solve
different problems in your kitchen,
study or library using the same
parts. And because of this
adaptability, you will never leave
Vits behind when you move.

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 Looking handsome in
the handsome city of
New York.

I still cant quite get my head

round how something can
travel 3470 miles, from
your warehouse in London
to my apartment in New York,
in such a short time!
Marvelous! Thanks so much.
From a graphic designer who took his shelves to New York.

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 Reason two

Start small

How often have you bought

something with that slight nag that
either the product or the company
will not be around in a few years?
Vits and our shelves have
been around for over 50 years.
We do one thing and we try to
do it well.

So, you do not need to raid the

bank on day one. Start by buying
only what you feel comfortable to
buy. Whether you need one more
shelf in 20 years time, or to
double your system next year,
we will be here for you. Just order
less now.

Built by the
Huguenots of 1783
to receive the
tender loving care
of new owners in
21st-century south
London. Charming.

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 Learn more about
the shelves at
vitsoe.com/how

Short on space?
Even a staircase
can be used
despite the change
in depth of this
wall. Solution.

The simple trick

of separating
the wall-mounted
E-Tracks allows
both the cabinets
(behind the table)
and the shelves
to float.

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 A flawless product matched by flawless
services. What more can I say?
From the senior partner of a large architectural practice.

A shelving system is
not only for books.
Whether you need
to sculpt your hair,
pamper your skin or
clothe your body,
here are some ways
to achieve it.

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 Reason three

Built to last

Most of the furniture we have ever

made is still in use. How do we
know? Because we see it at our
loyal customers homes and
offices time and again.

Sure, on day one you might be

able to spend less money than at
Vits. But once you realise that
our shelving system is genuinely
built to last you quickly appreciate
that it might be considered
ercheap.

A customer who
has been buying
from Vits for
some time. Note
the 25-year-old
beech cabinet next
to the new
integrated table
with Brauns 1962
RT 20 radio. Tracks
of varying length
accommodate the
awkward space.
Wiring tucked
under the table.
Look carefully and
you will see the
wall-mounted
system become
a compressed
system. Clever.

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 The undisputed
harmony of
modest parental
architecture that
led to Pompidou
in Paris, Lloyds
in London
and beyond.

I have been raving

about the Vits
service and product
to anyone who will
listen. I have always
been a little fanatical
about service quality
and have never come
across a firm that
is so joined up on
service from the
website to the
consulting and
drawings through
to the delivery
and installation.
From a director of investor relations.

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 Drawers on tracks
on a wall. Bedroom,
living room or
office sideboard?
Its hard to tell.

Very well packaged

and the spirit levels
are a lovely touch
bordering on genius.
From a curious web developer.

See the cabinets

in action at
vitsoe.com/how

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 Reason four

A design classic

Design classic and the adjective

designer are over-used. But our
shelving system is the work of
Dieter Rams. He was head of
design at Braun from 1961 to 1995
and many of his teams products
have found their way into the
collections of the worlds finest
museums.

Today he is often cited as the

man who created a gentler world
a world to which many people
now aspire. We are proud of
him and his work and we are
delighted that many respected
commentators regard our
self-effacing shelving system
as a design classic.

Occasionally a
design classic
has to make an
appearance in a
museum here
at Londons Design
Museum for an
exhibition of Dieter
Ramss work.

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24 25
 The service you provided was
A long-living
academic
institution uses
furniture that can
be added to and
exceptional very easy to use
rearranged at any
point in the future. and all went according to time,
budget and specification!
Obviously.

From a busy architectural team leader.

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 Reason five

Our happiest customers are

those who have dealt with
Vits the longest.

So said Niels Vits (1913-1995).

He was a charming man whose
modesty was only equalled by that
of his furniture. But he knew that
his furniture was nothing unless
it was supported by outstanding
service from intelligent,
sympathetic human beings.

Today, in a world that too often

forgets about old-fashioned
service, we remember the virtues
of please and thank you.
We genuinely enjoy dealing with
our customers whether by email,
phone or face-to-face in our shops.
We offer a lifetime of support.

Whether older
house or newer,
your shelves are
equally at home.
Here the DVDs
allow bed-time
cinema while the
clothes hide in the
drawers. Orderly.

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 I wish every company I dealt
with was as professional as Vits.
From the moment I first discussed
the system with you through to
the installation it has been simple,
efficient, hassle-free and very
professional.
From experts on branding and packaging.

Believe it or not,
this is a bed-head.
The bed is to the
left behind the
shelves. But the
laptop can perch
on this side.
Multi-functional.

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 While we feel a
duty to remind you
that you can buy
your first system
from Vits for
surprisingly little
money, we have
to be realistic and
understand that
we all dream.
Aspirational.

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 Shops in London, New York,
New York

Tokyo and at vitsoe.com

Although our founder, Niels Vits,

died just as the internet was
starting to take shape he would
not be surprised to see that
investment in both physical shops
and the web is now taking Vits
around the world.

If you cannot visit us in London,

New York or Tokyo, you can visit
us at vitsoe.com and still deal
personally with any one of our
affable planners in whichever
time-zone suits you.

Niels Vits would recognise that

we still insist on human beings
planning your shelving system
with you, even though online
drawings can be refreshed in real
time and you can pay, securely,
online for rapid dispatch. Old-
fashioned courtesy and modern
technology in harmony: precisely
as he would have wished.

To work with one of

our planners, go to
vitsoe.com/start

London

34 vitsoe.com/where 35
 Making it
Each cabinet is
meticulously built
by highly-skilled
cabinet-makers.

The aluminium
structure is
prepared
individually for
each order.

For more than 50 years Vits has
been making furniture learning,
improving and evolving so that
our customers, suppliers and
employees can reap the benefits.
We employ only the most talented
people we can find because
we know that genuine care and
attention-to-detail are appreciated
by our customers around the
world. In addition, we have
worked for decades with
world-class suppliers in a spirit
of genuine, mutually beneficial,
partnership.
We use the best quality materials
and always take decisions that will
benefit everyone for the long term.
Good enough is not a phrase
heard above the whirr of drills
and chatter of screwdrivers in
our workshop.
All high-value
aluminium
We add together the cost of components are
people, suppliers and materials transported in
wooden stillages
and charge our customers a price
designed and built
that allows Vits to invest its by Vits. Some are
modest profits for the long-term 15 years old and
good of all concerned. still going strong.

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 As the system evolves, some details may differ from those shown/described

Narrow bay Wide bay

66.7cm (26") 91.2cm (35 7 8")

Aluminium tray Metal shelf: Metal shelf Cabinet: Metal shelf: rotated Bookend Metal shelf Cabinet: Mounting panel Integrated table Sloping shelf 79
For use in double flipped Ideal for your three drawers The simple act of Non-tip, available Four depths for up-and-over door A simple wooden Shallower for you to For near-upright
shelves, desk Flipping a shelf vinyl collection. Stationery, odds n rotating a shelf to in two heights with your paperbacks, Ideal for higher level panel to which sit face-on; deeper display of
shelves and cabinets creates uninterrupted ends even your become vertical non-slip base to CDs, art books, storage. Optional you can attach to sit side-on. large-format books
with doors. On surfaces whilst smalls. Add drawer gives you a pinboard keep everything and much more. perforated back for your screen. and magazines.
surfaces, too. With a keeping big dividers and a pencil for your magnets. in place. wiring and ventilation. Use magnets to hold
finger hole to lift out books upright. tray or two. Choose any one of vitsoe.com/ Internal shelves and drawings in place.
your papers. vitsoe.com/ the four shelf depths. accessories aluminium trays
accessories available.
vitsoe.com/
accessories

Double shelf Shelf with Sloping shelf 18 E-Track Desk shelf E-Track, X-Post, Cabinet: Cabinet: Metal shelf Cabinet: Shelf with drawer
To contain your hanging rail For display of books Various lengths. Complete with two wall bracket fold-down door two drawers A discreet home one drawer Put a drawer where
aluminium trays For the wardrobe, the and magazines but Screwed directly to different depth See vitsoe.com/how For hiding what needs Capacious drawers for your printer. For suspension files you need it. Add
and/or extend your hall, the office or the often used for the wall. Download surfaces. It may be for detailed explanations to be hidden. Optional especially good for (any format), bottles, drawer dividers
work-surface. shop (for clothes, shoes, too. Create our planning guide used either way up of structures and perforated back for clothes and larger toys etc. Also and a pencil tray.
fabric samples, etc). an entire wardrobe. from vitsoe.com/how here for your to download our wiring and ventilation. office items. Drawer available with lock. vitsoe.com/
to see every typewriter or laptop. much-admired Internal shelves and dividers available for accessories
component. Other way up for planning guide. aluminium trays CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray
monitor and keyboard. available. Lockable. and similar.
vitsoe.com/ vitsoe.com/
accessories accessories
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 Thank you Marta Narbona
Toby Clark

Colours Stefan Beckman

Pace Kaminsky
Lars Nittve
Shideh Shaygan

Chad Wollen
Sin Davies

Andrew Collinge Cowshed

Hairdressing

Alistair & Odette Moncur

Dada Rogers Sophocles Maraveyas

Off-white Black Silver

Design Museum, London

Jan Kaplicky University of Cambridge

Faculty of Divinity

Monika Hary
Michael Haberbosch
Off-white Black Silver

Stuart & Maya Brisley Leigh & Brian Message

Aloha Rag

Beech and off-white Beech and black Beech and silver

Words Photography Illustration Design

Mark Adams Ken Kirkwood, except
Tommy Dobrzynski (opp pp1,7,14,35)
Thank you to our Anne Brassier (p1)
customers for the Ake Eson Lindman (p8)
generosity of their Jo Henderson (pp15,35 bottom)
quoted comments Luke Hayes (p23)
Philip Lauterbach (p28)
40 vitsoe.com Geof Howe (pp36,37)
Airside (pp38,39)
Thomas Manss & Company
Printed in the United Kingdom
Vits 2010
All rights reserved
Vits is a registered trademark
vitsoe.com
CB062010
vitsoe.com

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