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Go to shop7 November 2025
MDF Italia celebrates the twentieth anniversary of its most iconic bookcase with a series of photographs that capture its still-current style and functionality.
In 2005, Neuland Industries, the design studio founded by Eva Paster and Michael Geldmacher, designed Random for MDF Italia, a one-of-a-kind bookcase that would influence many subsequent projects based on this piece. It was a moment of transition: the bookcase became much more than a container for books: it was itself an object to be contemplated and, in turn, housed collectibles to be displayed.
The immediately noticeable feature is the seemingly random grid that creates display capsules for each individual object. It’s like a blow-up of a noticeboard, the domestication of a museum wall, the downplaying of the classic bookcase.
From the beginning, Random has been many things, yet its lines and structure remain minimal and clean. “Books,” the designers explained at the time, “are bearers of wisdom and poetry, of science and philosophy, of anarchy and revolution. They are guardians of minds and thoughts, and just as thoughts are free, so too should the life of a book. But each thing exists on its own. It randomly creates its own environment. The book on the shelf communicates its content, its back expresses its desire for attention. Therefore, we are obliged to respect the intrinsic content of the book. We must give in to this desire. We must break the mold that limits the expansion of the mind. So we created Random. The shelf where every book finds its true place!”
It’s a small revolution in book organization: there are higher and lower shelves, wider and narrower ones, but above all, there are shelves where books must necessarily be placed horizontally, a complete innovation that challenges the vertical arrangement of books themselves. This gives rise to a design within a design, in which the geometry of Random intersects with the compositional geometry of books.
Essential and functional, Random also has a subtle creative flair that is appreciated. It was a success from the start, and in 2011 the collection expanded with the Random Box (a bookcase with open and closed compartments and drawers), Random Cabinet (with closed compartments), and Randomito (a small wall-mounted element). In 2015, Randomissimo arrived: a return to the essence of the project, a simple graphic design that becomes a wall-mounted shelf.
The story of Random is a creative journey in which aesthetics and function go hand in hand, and in which this bookcase is an architectural presence that offers space for personal interpretation by housing books, objects, and memories.
Elements that alternate, change, appear and disappear over time, creating a dynamic diary of personal history. These are small miracles that only iconic furnishings can perform, and it is therefore fitting to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this bookcase, which has given rise to a new concept of furniture.
Maintaining a contemporary and versatile style over time, perfectly captured in the shots curated for the occasion by Ark Journal with styling by Pernille Vest, which also offer an interesting interpretation of the chromatic evolution of Random, now available in a trendy palette alongside the more classic white and grey versions.
