Sideboard, Etage,

2012

After training at Basel’s Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst, followed by four years of practice in Alfredo Häberli’s studio, Moritz Schmid opened his own studio in 2008. His Etage design was inspired by a traditional storage box. Echoing its veneered exterior, the oval oak shelf is surrounded by a thin compression-molded plywood shell. Along four supports, the shell glides effortlessly up and down on rails made of Arura vermelho hardwood. The handle locks the cover into the desired position and the game of showing and concealing begins. As this piece of furniture has neither front nor back and no predetermined orientation, users are free to position it at any angle in the room. Etage owes its high-quality execution to Swiss manufacturer Röthlisberger, which has specialized in woodworking since 1928. Moritz Schmid won the 2013 Swiss Design Award for this design. (Sabina Tenti)