#HTE

LAYER and kvadrat Announce Shape-Shifting Retail Shelf System Ahead of Salone del Mobile

Today, industrial design studio LAYER and danish textile manufacturer kvadrat announced SHIFT, a shape-shifting retail shelf system that will launch at at Salone del Mobile in a couple of weeks.

At first glance, SHIFT looks like a basic wall panel, but when you (literally) peel back the various top layers, a few different shelving options are revealed along with accompanying pop-out brackets.

The star of the show is Really’s Solid Textile board, which is made from compressed upcycled textiles. Intelligently machined kerf grooves are able to take the solid material and bring it back to its flexible nature in carefully selected areas. This allows the shelving system to act as both an acoustic wall unit when not being used for storage and a shelving unit that peels back when necessary.

The flexible system uses no screws or bolts in its construction, making it an ideal solution for retail spaces that frequently need to transition into event spaces. Using retail spaces as community gathering points for events has been a trend in recent years, so it’s interesting to see what a system designed for that model looks like. 

You can SHIFT in either blue made from recycled denim, yellow and grey. Or, if you like to live life on the edge, the white version is made from recycled hospital bed sheets. It’s neat how the fabric dictates the Solid Textile Board’s color.

“At LAYER we are really focused on sustainability and for us that means the materiality must be responsible, the functionality be flexible and the aesthetic be timeless. SHIFT represents all three; a simple adaptable shelf with an economy of construction using a super recycled material.”

If you’re headed to Salone del Mobile this year, you can see SHIFT in person at via Palermo 1. A series of 13 shelves in various configurations and sizes will be on display.