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Alexandra Gerber's Up Shelving System Features Sliding, Infinitely-Adjustable Metal Shelves

Made from aluminum extrusions, they borrow a trick from the window industry

By Rain Noe - June 10, 2021

in Furniture Design

Adjustable shelves usually feature holes and pins, but with London-based industrial designer Alexandra Gerber's Up shelving system, "the shelves simply drop into a groove and lock in place with a quick release-lock," she writes. The shelves can then "be moved up and down at any time by releasing the lock, and without affecting the other shelves, and retain a smooth and parallel movement."

Both the shelves and sides are made from the same aluminum extrusions, while "the joints borrow technologies usually applied to window construction," according to this short Q&A with Gerber.

I'm curious to see how the wider shelves hold up; is the extrusion sturdy enough to not sag under heavy books?

You can see more of Gerber's work here.

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Frank Borsboom

3 years ago

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I think it is a very smart idea. :) I just wonder if the shelves might scratch the 2 sides when moved up and down under a slight angle...

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- Sean Thackston
  
  Frank Borsboom
  
  3 years ago
  
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  I wondered the same thing. I love the look and function. The designer seems to have a good sense of how things work. I bet she includes plastic pads (or something) that keep the aluminum from touching the finished surface.
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Tim Hines

3 years ago

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I would have thought those shelves are pretty strong. The centre extrusion is effectively an I-beam, and the outer sections are triangulated. Also, the clamp to the vertical sections is rigid (I-beam to I-beam), so is capable of transmitting bending moments, so the shelf is much stiffer than a simple pin jointed one.

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