In 2022, another highlight of Japanese architecture was added to the unique ensemble on the Vitra Campus: the Umbrella House by Kazuo Shinohara (1925–2006), originally built in Tokyo in 1961. Join a guided tour of the building and learn more about the many facets of Japanese architecture while comparing the Umbrella House with other buildings by Japanese architects on the Vitra Campus – the Conference Pavilion by Tadao Ando (1993) and the Factory Building by SANAA (2012).

Meeting Point: Vitra Design Museum Gallery
German: 11 and 12 am, 2 and 3 pm
English: 1 and 4 pm
Free admission
Registration: www.openhouse-basel.org

The garden created by Dutch designer Piet Oudolf in 2020 adds another facet to the Vitra Campus. An artful wilderness, it consists of nearly thirty thousand plants and covers four thousand square metres. Its array of colours changes with the seasons, providing a rich setting for the surrounding architecture. Join a guided tour and learn more about the garden’s layout and design!

Tour in German:
From 7 May to 5 November 2023
Every Sunday and on holidays at 11 am, Vitra Design Museum

Gardens reflect identities, dreams, and visions. Deeply rooted in their culture, they can unfold immense symbolic potential. The recent revival of horticulture has focused less on the garden as a romantic refuge than as a place where concepts of social justice, biodiversity, and sustainability can be tried and tested. Gardens have become places of the avantgarde. The exhibition »Garden Futures« at the Vitra Design Museum is the first to explore the history and future of modern gardens.

2–6 pm

The Sumerians of southern Mesopotamia were the first to produce soap in the third century B.C. Since their time, many different methods for producing this solid fat-based cleansing agent have evolved, often using flowers and herbs from the garden to impart their fragrance. Make your own soap in this family friendly workshop! Soap granules and dried flowers are provided. In collaboration with Weleda. 

Free admission, registration not required 

Colours are a vital element of design. Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis has transformed the Vitra Schaudepot in one simple, sweeping gesture by sorting its roughly four hundred exhibits by colour. The installation produces fascinating cross-references between periods and styles and between iconic pieces by designers including Arne Jacobsen, Aino Aalto, Verner Panton, and Charles & Ray Eames as well as anonymous makers. Join the guided tour to discover new perspectives and learn more about the background of this spectacular immersive experience. 

Opening in autumn 2021, the »Wunderkammer« on the Vitra Campus will present a collection of more than one thousand action figures including robots, space toys, comic book characters, folk art and merchandising products from the collection of former Vitra Chairman Rolf Fehlbaum. These objects owe their visual charm to the talent, invention, and sense of humor of predominantly anonymous designers. In their time, these icons of pop culture fascinated millions of children and grown-ups.