Having been huge fans of the brand which is responsible for bringing us some of the most famous pieces of contemporary furniture for the past 60 years, we are delighted to announce that we are now official Vitra dealers. So, you can imagine our excitement when we were invited to the internationally renowned the Vitra Campus for a factory tour earlier this month.
Despite its Swiss heritage, the campus is actually situated in a German town on the Swiss/French boarder called Weil am Rhien. After being whisked off from Basel, within 25 minutes you can start to make out the unmistakable silhouette of the Vitra Haus in the distance.
The Campus is a fantastic collection of buildings designed by some of the worlds most highly regarded architects (Hertzog and De Meuron, Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid to name a few) in celebration of the design ethos of the Swiss furniture manufacturer and its pioneers. The buildings have all been designed with a specific purpose in mind and each architect has approached the site in a way which is sympathetic to its outstanding natural beauty and campus requirements.
At the front of the campus the Tadao Ando Conference Pavilion sits nestled into the landscape with much of the structure below ground level. Built in 1993 this was Ando’s first construction outside Japan, and his sympathetic approach to the surrounding landscape, results in a beautiful example of modern minimalism.
Next to the conference pavillion is a another European first and offers a stark contrast to the modest approach used by Ando. The Vitra design museum was built in 1989 and designed by the revolutionary American, Frank Gehry. Its twisted and curved structure, synonymous with Gehry, was designed to hold the large collection of design classics obtained by the owner of the company to showcase the pieces in a suitable environment. Used for travelling exhibitions as well as showcasing the collection, the design museum is just another example of Vitra’s approach to the experience and design ideals of the company.
At the rear of the Campus sits the famous fire station by Zaha Hadid, her first ever realised structure. The station was built in 1993 after a fire in the early eighties destroyed much of the original factory. Ironically, the onsite fire brigade was disbanded a few years later and it is now used as an exhibition space. The station features “head scratching” spaces where Hadid plays with planes to create optical illusions.
The latest addition to the factory buildings was designed by Japanese architects SANAA and has been in use since 2010. This simple, almost circular building was designed in a very functional manner with truck access and internal efficiency at the forefront of the design. The facade was completed last year and features an acrylic curtain attached to the outside of the building covering the external insulation and softening this gigantic building.
Among their product triumphs of recent years with contemporary designers such as the Bouroullec’s and Hella Jongerius, it is easy to forget the vast range of design classics that Vitra introduced. From the acquisition of the European rights of the Eames furniture range from Herman Miller, to the collaboration with the revolutionary Verner Panton to produce a one piece moulded chair, a piece of design that remains one of the most iconic to this day.
Housed within the Frank Gehry factory are original pieces and prototypes to marvel at from design greats such as Nelson, Eames and Prouve. Even the entire original office of Charles and Ray Eames has been painstakingly transported piece by piece and recreated in the factory. A must see.
Our history lesson culminated in a visit to the spotless production lines of one of the factory buildings to see the assembly process of the Eames Lounge Chair, still one of the brand’s biggest sellers to this day. The quality and precision that goes into the assembly of this classic piece go some way to explaining the retail price as each section is painstakingly hand assembled by one man who completes just 13 chairs per day.
Having being dominant in the contract market since the seventies, Vitra have spent the last few years putting extra focus on the Home Collection, releasing new products and reinvigorating existing designs with new finishes and sizes aimed at the domestic market. The Vitra Haus was built in 2010 as Vitra’s flagship store and a symbol of their focus on the domestic market.
Towering above the rest of the architecture on the campus, the Vitra Haus was based around the archetypal interpretation of the shape of a simple house, stretched and stacked to create an outstanding piece of modern architecture, with the friendly and familiar forms creating a welcoming invitation to navigate the space. The lower floor of the building is occupied by a dining area for visitors, along with a design shop selling a collection of Vitra novelties and accessories displayed alongside other brands such as Hay.
The rest of the space is dedicated to displaying the Vitra home collection in a variety of beautifully styled rooms sets and installations. The different areas of the top floors are joined by central stairways that dissect the interlocking elements of the architecture, with the glazed gables all offering views over the beautiful surrounding scenery or the campus itself.
The spaces are styled with books, ceramics and textiles not produced by Vitra but used to create a home, and it is this approach that makes this space the success it is. There is no preciousness about only using Vitra products to create a home, as it is about more than that, and Vitra understand this. This may be the most successful showroom we have ever visited, and we’ve seen a few! The success of Vitra’s expansion into the home market over the past few years is underlined by this fantastic space and the emotion that it creates as you idle from scene to scene, and this soft approach to selling their brand only enhances the feel of approachability towards the company.
The architectural tour of the Vitra Campus is available to members of the public for a small fee, and is a trip that is definitely recommended to anyone with any interest in the design field.
1 Comment
Yurii
big fan of vitra, we have chosen the lounge chair because it is an absolute classic. you are so right about the chairs, they will last forever. dining chairs are a must have because you look at them standing gracefully around your table. i am a huge fan of design classics, oh girl, our minds are so alike.