Collection by Olivia Martin

Bookshelves for All Spaces

Whether you have a large or small space, these bookshelves will fit right in.

Primary colors and black lines put Piet Mondrian into history and onto the grid. Arik Levy’s Level bookcase gives green a go and yellow the boot, though it still evokes the Dutch de Stijlist’s rigid compositions.
Primary colors and black lines put Piet Mondrian into history and onto the grid. Arik Levy’s Level bookcase gives green a go and yellow the boot, though it still evokes the Dutch de Stijlist’s rigid compositions.
Penguin Donkey 2 book caddy by Ernest Race (1963) for Isokon (£570 at Skandium)
Penguin Donkey 2 book caddy by Ernest Race (1963) for Isokon (£570 at Skandium)
The Jeni bookcase.
The Jeni bookcase.
An example of the Memphis movement, Ettore Sottsass’s Carlton bookcase is laminate over wood and was manufactured in Italy circa 1981.
An example of the Memphis movement, Ettore Sottsass’s Carlton bookcase is laminate over wood and was manufactured in Italy circa 1981.
In 1940, architect Franco Albini made a single model of his ship’s rigging-like Veliero bookcase for his Milan home—where it eventually collapsed. Sixty-six years later, Cassina fabricated the shelves in a re-creation of Albini’s study for the Renzo Piano-curated Zero Gravity exhibition. Again: poor stability. But Cassina, which has committed to keeping alive the work of select master architects in the form of its I Maestri collection, did not give up. Instead, it embarked on an epic five-year R&D effort that would lead to the product’s launch in April 2012.
In 1940, architect Franco Albini made a single model of his ship’s rigging-like Veliero bookcase for his Milan home—where it eventually collapsed. Sixty-six years later, Cassina fabricated the shelves in a re-creation of Albini’s study for the Renzo Piano-curated Zero Gravity exhibition. Again: poor stability. But Cassina, which has committed to keeping alive the work of select master architects in the form of its I Maestri collection, did not give up. Instead, it embarked on an epic five-year R&D effort that would lead to the product’s launch in April 2012.
Multi-functional furniture makes small (and not-so-small) spaces a little more livable. Need a place to sit, set your coffee, or house your collection of paperbacks? The Platone unit by Jeff Miller is a bench, bookcase, and coffee table together as one. The larger sections are made of solid or moka ash, shown here with the smaller square—Plato—which is sculpted from a single block of marble.
Multi-functional furniture makes small (and not-so-small) spaces a little more livable. Need a place to sit, set your coffee, or house your collection of paperbacks? The Platone unit by Jeff Miller is a bench, bookcase, and coffee table together as one. The larger sections are made of solid or moka ash, shown here with the smaller square—Plato—which is sculpted from a single block of marble.