At this year's Milan Design Week, the Swiss design icon USM is exploring its own DNA – the modular furniture system USM Haller, with its fascinating history and constant changeability. What began almost 60 years ago continues to inspire today. Architecture became USM – the modular icon by Fritz Haller and Paul Schärer, Switzerland.

In the middle of the raw space of the iconic Rossignoli, a futuristic USM Haller installation amazes visitors. On an impressive stage, the classic is manually put into permanent transformation, revealing its simplicity and ingenuity. Behind the simple beauty, there are countless design possibilities to be explored. From spheres, tubes, connectors and colourful panels a piece of furniture is being created live that is constantly changing, never stands still and awakens everyone's creativity.

In the penumbra of the spatial sculpture, an interactive exhibition invites visitors to explore the many facets of the design classic's rich history. Historical and poetic artifacts and witnesses are to be discovered through peepholes, behind doors and in pull-outs.

While this space capsule forms the calm core of the USM presence, the outdoor space with its sculpture landscape and an adjoining bar literally functions as a "connector". Here, it is all about connecting: encounters, exchange, networking and enjoyment.

It is this equivalence of "timeless" and "contemporary" that has characterised USM over the past six decades and carries it into the future. A versatility and adaptability that hardly any other design classic can match. And yet the few but striking design elements of the modular furniture system have been unmistakable since the sixties. The timeless icon remains true to itself while always being in motion.