Norwegian designers use reclaimed materials to customise USM Haller furniture

Climbing ropes, tall grass and a balloon pump were among the things Norwegian designers used to modify USM Haller's famous modular furniture for an exhibition at Designers' Saturday in Oslo.

For USM Haller Re-Framed, Martin A Andersen tasked himself and nine other designers with putting their own twist on the Swiss brand's classic chrome-plated, steel-frame system.

In keeping with the theme for this year's Designers' Saturday – Repurpose – they were encouraged to use reclaimed, self-sourced materials.

Andersen, who runs USM Haller stockist Studio M3, got the idea for the project after acquiring a large number of gigantic filing cabinets from a banking firm in Oslo that was redesigning its head office after a merger.

"They had filled their whole office with it – it was one of the biggest USM orders from the 1980s," he told Dezeen. "It was all really worn, but still useful in some way."

Andersen spent three months reworking the filing cabinets into lowboards. Looking for a way to demonstrate the potential of upcycling in combination with local craftsmanship, he contacted nine designers he knows – some established names, some emerging talents – and gave them a crash-course in possibilities for adapting the furniture.

"I chose people that I think have strong ideas in different directions and I knew would create something that reflects their personality," he explained.

"We gave it it to them and said, we want you to create something that gives it a new purpose in a way that we've not seen before," he continued. "And they all came out so different – everybody managed to create something really unique."

Kjetil Smedal turned his lowboard into a record player. He took surplus grated fibreglass flooring from a fishing-boat yard to use as panels for the steel USM frames, and combined it with excess glued-laminated timber sourced from a construction site to insert a turntable plinth and vinyl storage.

Lloyd Winter filled his with woodchips and planted it with grass and weeds, to give the impression of the furniture being left out in the wilderness and reclaimed by nature. To enhance the effect, he used rusted perforated USM sheets as panelling.

The most surreal contribution came from Stian Korntved Ruud, who topped the unit with a stripped and polished birch log to serve as a backrest.

To make the bench interactive, he fitted an aluminium bicycle pump that when operated inflates a balloon, and took flutes from an old accordion that sound like a harmonica when seashell buttons are pressed.

Design studio Hunting & Narud extended the bench using wooden panels sourced from a century-old barn in Dokka, two hours north of Oslo.

The wood's distressed texture was retained at the back, while the front was given a fresh coat of paint that references the traditional red colour of Norwegian barns.

Participating designers scavenged a wide range of materials for the project. Josefine Johansson obtained used cargo straps from a shipping company to make a woven seat, while Mic Poy salvaged teak panels that were being used as a cover for an outdoor heat pump.

Marianne Skarbøvik took an awning from her neighbour's house and mounted it using steel wire taken from promotional USM keychains, and Bjarte Sandal procured excess pine floorboards from Danish manufacturer Dinesen.

Bård Arnesen used traditional Norwegian woven blankets, choosing to tuck them between the steel frame rather than cut or modify them so they can be easily reused.

Andersen contributed two of his own efforts, one using discarded climbing ropes that he wove into a macramé pattern, and another panelled in surplus acrylic tiles from ceramics brand Fired Earth.

During Designers' Saturday – a biennale showcasing Norwegian design held this month – the 11 pieces served as audience seating at the event's talks programme, held in a bar.

USM was founded as a metalworking business in the late 19th century but began producing its modular furniture in the 1960s having commissioned Swiss architect Fritz Haller to design an adaptable steel-framed factory and office building for the company.

Haller was subsequently tasked with developing a reconfigurable furniture system to complement the buildings' modularity, with his ball-connector solution patented in 1965.

Initially the furniture system was only intended for use in USM's own offices, but it entered commercial production in 1969 and soon became a popular workplace staple in several countries.

The Designers' Saturday exhibition is among a handful of recent projects to have leveraged the modularity of USM Haller pieces.

This year's NYCxDesign featured two collections based around the system, one by Henry Julier utilising paper cord and a lighting system by manufacturer Gantri, and in late 2024 London retailer Aram partnered with USM on an exhibition of adaptations along a similar theme.

The photography is by Birgit Fauske.

Designers' Saturday was held at venues across Oslo from 12 to 14 September 2025. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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