A Universal Truth

Today's fast fashion and disposable design made the 50th anniversary of Dieter Rams's 606 Universal wall system for Vitsoe all the more extraordinary.

Annie Block, Mark McMenamin, and Meghan Edwards -- Interior Design, 5/1/2011 3:18:00 PM

Today's fast fashion and disposable design made the 50th anniversary of Dieter Rams's 606 Universal wall system for Vitsoe all the more extraordinary. Born of a youth culture that demanded more flexible living spaces and eventually offices, the system introduced modularity into the vernacular-and has remained in production ever since. Rams, a 28-year-old rising star of industrial design at the time, devised a wall-mounted anodized-aluminum track from which an assortment of components could hang: cabinets in lacquered MDF, shelves in lacquered MDF, plastic laminate, beech, or steel, tables in plastic laminate or beech, and a host of accessories. The mix-and-match approach allows owners to start small and evolve when the time or the money is right. Then they can take everything with them when they move. What's sustainability if not longevity?