Vitsœ

since 1959 : The Legacy of “Living Better, with Less, that Lasts Longer”

 

Vitsœ was founded in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in 1959 as Vitsœ + Zapf, a collaboration between Danish furniture dealer Niels Vitsœ, German industrialist Otto Zapf, and the then-young designer Dieter Rams, who was also working at Braun. They aimed to bring Rams’s forward-thinking, modular furniture systems to market.

 

In 1960, the brand launched the 606 Universal Shelving System, which quickly became a benchmark in modern design. The 606 wasn’t just a shelving unit—it was a modular infrastructure, endlessly adaptable and expandable, designed to serve its owner across a lifetime.

 

By 1969, Otto Zapf had departed, and the company became simply Vitsœ. Under Niels Vitsœ’s stewardship and Rams’s ongoing creative direction, Vitsœ continued to release iconic pieces, including the 620 Chair Programme (1962) and the 621 Side Table (1962). These designs embodied Rams’s belief that furniture should be functional, long-lasting, and unobtrusive, a philosophy aligned with his now-famous Ten Principles of Good Design.

 

In the late 1990s, Mark Adams became managing director, and Vitsœ shifted its operations to the United Kingdom. By 2017, the company consolidated its workshop, offices, and distribution under one roof in a custom-built headquarters in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. The headquarters itself is a design statement—an open, flexible space constructed from glued laminated timber and glass, reflecting the same values of longevity, lightness, and adaptability as Vitsœ furniture.

 

 

 

 

about vitsoe

 

Vitsœ is one of the rare furniture companies that has never chased trends. Instead, it has built its identity around permanence, modularity, and ethics. For more than 60 years, the company has produced only three core product systems, all designed by Dieter Rams:

 

The 606 Universal Shelving System

The 620 Chair Programme

The 621 Table

 

Each product is deliberately timeless, able to integrate into a home, workplace, or cultural institution with equal ease.

 

Vitsœ operates on a direct-to-customer model, without seasonal sales or discounts. Their philosophy is to encourage responsible consumption, where customers expand, reconfigure, or repair their systems rather than replace them. This aligns with their guiding belief: “Living better, with less, that lasts longer.”

 

 

 

Products

 

Signature Products

 

606 Universal Shelving System (1960)

The most iconic Vitsœ product, still in production more than six decades later. The system consists of aluminum tracks and E-profiles onto which shelves, cabinets, and desks can be mounted. Every component produced since 1960 is backwards and forwards compatible—a radical commitment to longevity. The 606 is equally at home in a library, kitchen, office, or gallery.

 

620 Chair Programme (1962)

A modular seating system designed to transform from a single chair into a sofa of any length. Its replaceable covers, interlocking arms, and adjustable configurations make it one of the most versatile seating systems ever made. Reissued in 2013 with updated materials, it remains a cult favorite among design collectors.

 

621 Table (1962)

A side table designed to complement the 620 Chair, featuring injection-molded plastic and a minimalist silhouette. It was reintroduced by Vitsœ in 2014 with updated production techniques, staying faithful to Rams’s original design.

 

 

 

Modularity : Systems adapt to changes in lifestyle, space, and taste.

 

Durability : Materials like anodized aluminum and engineered timber ensure longevity.

 

Sustainability by design : Instead of planned obsolescence, Vitsœ products are meant to last decades, avoiding waste.

 

Cross-generational relevance : Shelves from the 1960s integrate perfectly with shelves made today, making the brand uniquely intergenerational.

 

 

 

 

why vitsoe

 

Vitsœ’s philosophy is directly shaped by Dieter Rams’s Ten Principles of Good Design: innovative, useful, aesthetic, understandable, unobtrusive, honest, long-lasting, thorough, environmentally friendly, and minimal. Rams developed these principles in response to consumer culture’s excesses in the mid-20th century, and Vitsœ continues to embody them today.

 

Longevity over novelty : Products are designed for decades, not seasons.

 

Transparency : Honest pricing, no seasonal sales, no deceptive marketing.

 

Adaptability : Furniture that evolves with its owner’s life, rather than being discarded.

 

Environmental consciousness : Vitsœ frames recycling as a “last resort.” The primary goal is reuse, repair, and repurpose.

 

Quiet design : Products are deliberately unobtrusive, designed to harmonize with architecture and interiors instead of dominating them.

 

 

Brand Highlights

 

Vitsœ has had a profound influence not just in design circles, but in popular culture.

 

Design Museums : Vitsœ furniture is part of permanent collections in design museums worldwide, including the V&A in London and MoMA in New York.

 

Leamington Spa Headquarters (2017) : A landmark in sustainable industrial architecture, built with mass timber and funded partly by customer-issued bonds.

 

Media Presence : The 606 Shelving System and 620 Chair Programme have appeared in films, TV shows, and countless architectural projects. Most recently, they featured prominently in Apple TV’s Severance (2022–2025), where their minimalist aesthetic was used to amplify the show’s eerie corporate atmosphere.

 

Enduring Recognition : Publications like Architectural Digest, Wallpaper*, and House & Garden continue to hail the 606 as one of the most significant furniture systems of the 20th century.

 

Vitsœ’s refusal to follow traditional retail practices, no sales, no excessive advertising, no product churn, has earned it respect as a rare example of a truly principled modern company.

 

 

 

where to find

 

Vitsœ has a global presence in over 70 countries, but unlike mass-market furniture brands, it operates with a direct-to-customer philosophy. This ensures consistent service and lifetime support.

 

Showrooms : London, New York, Los Angeles, Munich, Tokyo

Headquarters & Production : Leamington Spa, UK. All furniture is manufactured here and shipped worldwide.

 

Website https://www.vitsoe.com/

Instagram @vitsoe

Photo vitsoe