A visit to Vitsœ

And the importance of saying no.

As a loyal customer and admirer (both of Dieter Rams’ design philosophy and Vitsœ’s business ethos), I had the pleasure of visiting Vitsœ’s HQ in Royal Leamington Spa on 28th July 2023. I am still absorbing all I saw and heard.

The home of Vitsoe — Andrew Eberlin 28th July 2023

We were at the end of a fascinating tour around Vitsœ’s airy home in the heart of England.

While savouring a chocolate brownie made by their in-house chef (so delicious I’m surprised I was listening), their MD Mark Adams, shared the most important thing he has learned in business.

The confidence and tenacity to say “no.”

Not in a negative way, but in a profoundly positive way.

The desire to do less of everything so that you end up with something better.

It's inherent in everything they do. In their approach to product, to business and, as I saw on this tour, their home in the heart of England.

No partitions.

No internal walls, no air-conditioning, no lights on during daylight hours.

The building reflects the product being assembled within. Outside an understated, rectangular box. Inside an airy open space filled with natural light.

It houses an assembly line, offices, a kitchen with dining area, a museum, a distribution centre and overnight accommodation.

There are no internal walls. Those who sit at a desk and those who stand assembling the products share the same space. An uninterrupted flow which makes it easier to share ideas.

People go about their business with methodical calm and meticulous care. There is a seriousness here but it doesn't feel tense or unwelcoming. People greet you with a warm hello and a smile.

A workspace that works.

“It seems that the building is generating a new sense of self-confidence. Things that could be a problem now seem manageable.” (Life in a universal space)

No finish.

No scaffolding, no paint, no plasterboard, no architect, no boxing-in and no box-ticking.

They opted “not to register for sustainability assessment methods because the box-ticking would constrain us too much from doing the very best for our building.”

A boat builder designed the building. Architects were focused on the wrong areas when answering the brief. They were more concerned about how it looked on the outside. It was the inside that needed the imaginative thinking.

Vitsœ shelves are made of steel, but timber was a better option for this building. It is adaptable, fire resistant, firm and retains more carbon.

The 18 bays, measuring 135m long and 25m wide, took 23 days to construct. No scaffolding was needed.

Like Vitsœ's products can be adapted through time, this modular building is a ‘kit of parts’. Walls, beams and floors can be moved. Pipes, wires and services are accessible for repair or redirecting. Nothing is hidden. The workmanship is on show.

There is no air conditioning, no paint and no lights on during daylight hours.

The building is not finished. It never will be. Vitsœ don’t know what they will want this space to do in the the decades to come. It will be refined and improved as needs change.

Sir Alex Gordon, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, said the best buildings are: “Long life, loose fit, low energy.” (Arrival)

Vitsœ have managed all three.

“Vitsœ's building is a statement of intent: if ever more people around the world will buy less from us, then this building, and all it stands for, will be justified.”

Mark Adams

No consumption.

No consumers, no to passing fashion, no discounts, no intermediaries, no built-in obsolescence.

“Our goal is to generate as little waste as possible.” Mark Adams.

Vitsœ produce three products. A shelving system, a chair and a table. That is all.

Designed by Dieter Rams over 60 years ago, the products have been gradually improved through the years. Improvement doesn't come at the expense of obsolescence. Each iteration is compatible with what went before.

They could be tempted to increase the product range. It's what investors would do. It's perhaps what some customers would like. But they won't do so without very careful consideration.

In the foreword of ‘Dieter Rams The Complete Works’, the man himself sets out our task (I paraphrase):

Less and less of products which squander resources.
Less and less of products which are quickly set aside and replaced with new ones.
Less and less products which become obsolete as soon as fashion passes.
Less and less products which wear out quickly.

Their products aren’t prey to the whims of fashion. They are not for consumers. They are for people to live with, move with, repair and pass on.

“… we are aware of many companies now beating the sustainability drum, but this is not a word either Rams or Vitsœ choose to use. Our principles cannot be taken lightly, they run deeply through the longevity of the adaptable design and the lifelong ‘less but better’ behaviour Rams and Vitsœ have collectively championed for over 60 years. To us it is a ‘responsibility’ to create for the long-term.” (Rams at 90)

No investors.

No short-termism, no profiteering, no cutting corners, no growth for the sake of it.

To raise money for the move to Royal Leamington Spa, Vitsœ issued a bond to customers and suppliers. For a minimum of £5k, bond holders would receive 6.06% interest for at least five years (a nod to the 606 universal shelving system). It only took a few weeks to achieve the target.

Saying no to external investment means saying no to growth at the expense of everything else.

Business graveyards are full of companies who lost sight of their founding principles because of pressure from investors who want more products, more consumption, more waste, more profit. Which leads to less focus. Less attention to detail. Lower quality and lower customer satisfaction.

“What bothers me today is the arbitrariness and thoughtlessness with which many things are produced and brought to market, not only in the sector of consumer goods, but also in architecture and advertising. We have too many unnecessary things everywhere.” (from the film, Rams).

No easy furrows.

This is why I admire Vitsœ so much. Their absolute clarity on what they do and their absolute belief in why they do it.

I’ll leave you with a passage from Oliver Burkeman’s ‘Four Thousand Weeks’:

“Productivity is a trap. Becoming more efficient just makes you more rushed, and trying to clear the decks simply makes them fill up again faster. Nobody in the history of humanity has ever achieved “work-life balance,” whatever that might be, and you certainly won’t get there by copying the “six things successful people do before 7:00 a.m.” The day will never arrive when you finally have everything under control — when the flood of emails has been contained; when your to-do lists have stopped getting longer; when you’re meeting all your obligations at work and in your home life; when nobody’s angry with you for missing a deadline or dropping the ball; and when the fully optimized person you’ve become can turn, at long last, to the things life is really supposed to be about.”

We have a finite time on this earth and a finite number of resources.

So we must use our weeks well. For me, Vitsœ encapsulates this because they only say yes to the important things.

Thank you

To Daniel for your knowledge, Jessica for your welcome and Mark for your insight.

More reading

Wallpaper

Archello

A new way of building

The road to Royal Leamington Spa: arrival

“We stand against the consumption of resources.”

The Rams film has scenes in which Mark Adams shows Rams around the unfinished building.

“At Vitsœ we genuinely want our customers to buy only what you need from us. We want more people to buy fewer things of better quality and to make it last longer.”