USM celebrates 50 years of the famous USM Haller Modular Furniture and takes the opportunity to explore new opportunities and think in new ways. That is why the renowned company is launching the exciting, multifaceted and global project50, an year full of workshops, experiments and ultimately a great event at the 2015 Milan Furniture Fair in April.

The celebration began in September of 2014 with a week creative workshop at the idyllic estate of Domaine de Boisbuchet. At “Rethink the modular” students from seven major design colleges and universities of United States, Japan, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy and Switzerland, supported by renowed instructors, deal with questions of modularity, such as: How do the creative minds of the young generation view the iconic furniture or How do they handle modularity in today’s day and age, where flexibility is so important? And how will the system shape the future?
In another highlight of project50, a cheeky experiment was conducted, in which a piece of USM furniture with a note on it that said: «Steal Me!»  was placed somewhere on each campus of the participating colleges and universities. Whoever responded to this demand was actually allowed to keep the furniture and incorporate it into his/her life. How the furniture makes its journey and where it ends up is secretly documented by a film crew.

The USM Haller System is based on modules and is expandable and upgradeable allowing hundreds of design possibilities. The stainless steel modules give to USM Haller a solidity for shelves and supports along with flexibility and an easy way of assembling and disassembling. That makes it perfect for both contract and residential spaces.
The story of USM Haller Modular Furniture began in 1961 when Paul Schärer, USM founder,’s grandson, decided to boost the company and entrusted the design of the new office to the Swiss architect Fritz Haller, who, on his side, shaped the building on a unique modular, structural  framework in steel which, thanks to an innovative and flexible mind, inspired the evergreen furniture USM Haller system two year later, still world-famous 50 years later.
Text by Gabriele Masi.