After the overwhelming success of his Pattern Shelf, which was voted Best Shelving System by Wallpaper in 2007, Zurich-based, Argentine-born designer Alfredo Häberli presented the Pattern Sideboard last April. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve covered some of Häberli’s other products at 3rings, such as the Seracs modular sofa and the Legnomobile storage system. Produced for Quodes, the Pattern Sideboard takes the best elements of its forerunner and reworks them into a smaller package.

Pattern Sideboard. Designed by Alfredo Häberli.

The telltale geometry of the original Pattern remains—shapes “piled one on top of the other to create interesting patterns.” But at only L 195 cm x H 70 cm x D 36 cm, Pattern Sideboard fits much smaller spaces. Aligned horizontally, the sideboard becomes less its own statement and more of an accent piece of furniture, able to accompany varied styles, rooms, and designs.

The entire Pattern line now consists of the vertically-oriented large shelving units in two sizes, square units in two sizes, and a petite, vertical piece somewhat smaller than the sideboard. These “furniture sculptures” use variation and contour to give Pattern “a fascinating and visual shape.” Constructed of aluminum composite, panels are 6 mm thick, available in satin white or silver. With their distinctive black edges, Pattern units show off the milled aluminum. “Suitable for storing books and exhibiting objects,” Häberli’s units evince the playful nature and ingenious mind of the versatile designer, who has worked with companies like Camper, Luceplan, and Moroso. I suspect that those short on space but who have admired the larger Pattern shelves for some time will appreciate the Pattern Sideboard. Booklovers will undoubtedly fill it with tomes large and small; cooks will stuff it with glassware and serving dishes; and collectors everywhere will pack it with the gadgets and gewgaws they most admire.