In an era obsessed with the new, Studio M3 challenges us to look back—to transform, repurpose, and uplift what already exists. Their recent exhibition, USM Haller Re-Framed, showcases how sustainable impulses and creative thinking can breathe new life into design icons.

The Concept: Reuse, Reimagine, Reframe

At the heart of Re-Framed lies a deceptively simple premise: take vintage USM Haller modular frameworks from the 1980s—rescued from the former Kredittkassen Bank headquarters in Oslo—and invite designers to retool them into functional benches using surplus or repurposed materials.

By doing so, Studio M3 doesn’t just repurpose a structure; they interrogate consumption, legacy, and the boundaries of how design evolves. The project leans hard into local value creation—aligning aesthetics, craft, and economy in one gesture.

10 Designers, 10 Transformations

What makes Re-Framed compelling isn’t just the conceptual rigor—it's the diversity of interpretations. Each of the ten Norwegian designers was given the same starting point: the skeletal USM frame. From there, they diverged wildly in direction.

Kjetil Smedal fused industrial tile grids and raw wood to build a hybrid vinyl record bench / storage unit.
Lloyd Achim Winter leaned poetic, with a seat that doubles as a planter: rusted metal, organic growth, and sitting space merged into one.
Bård Arnesen brought in cultural resonances, applying Norwegian textiles and colorful embroidery to fold in a sense of place and craft identity.

Each piece feels like its own micro-essay: one about function, another about nature, another about craft or culture.

Why This Matters

Sustainability as A Provocation
This exhibition doesn’t merely recycle; it questions how much of our cultural inheritance is discarded. It argues for thoughtfulness over novelty, for structure as a canvas rather than a finished product.

Local + Circular Economies
Studio M3’s goal is not global spectacle but rooted impact. By sourcing locally and emphasizing reuse, they sow the seeds of circular design practices within community contexts.

The Value of Creative Constraint
Constraints often unleash innovation. Here, the fixed geometry of the USM frame forces designers to stretch their imagination. It’s a reminder: good design often emerges from limits, not freedom.

Where & When

USM Haller Re-Framed premiered at Oslo’s Designer Saturday in mid-September (2025). The exhibition underscores the theme of Repurpose—a timely call as our environmental, social, and economic systems strain under wasteful paradigms.

Key Takeaways for Designers & Brands

Legacy Design Is a Resource
Heritage systems (like USM) are rarely obsolete; they often carry latent potential.
Collaboration Amplifies Insight
Inviting multiple voices to reinterpret a form surfaces ideas no single designer might reach.
Narrative Matters
Each piece here is meaningful not just in form but in story—how it was made, from what materials, and toward what ends.
Sustainability Isn’t an Afterthought
In Re-Framed, sustainability is integral: conceptual, material, social.