The Vitra Campus, a mecca of architecture in Basel, Switzerland, is a beautiful space that brings together industry and art through architecture.
Vitra Design Museum
For someone who loves to see architectural structures while traveling, Basel is truly an attractive city. Among the most interesting places is the Vitra Campus, a famous furniture company's factory complex. Taking bus number 55 to Vitra from Basel, there is no need to constantly check Google Maps, as this white building welcomes travelers. This building, the Vitra Design Museum, is the first building by Canadian-born American architect Frank Gehry outside the United States, created in response to Vitra's request to transform the Vitra Campus from a mere industrial space into a comprehensive complex infused with cultural elements. The building, characterized by its zinc grey roof, white exterior walls, and geometric structured forms combining organically to seem as if in motion, is regarded as the starting point of Frank Gehry's deconstructivist architecture, leading to his work on the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Initially, this building was constructed for the exhibition of the Vitra founder's family furniture collection and the sale of various design products, but it is now used as a planned exhibition space by Vitra. The nature of the planned exhibition changes the decoration of the exterior walls, showing that the exhibition is not only inside but also connected to the outside. The building's character, which appears to change its shape depending on the viewing direction, and the spatial layout's continuity, including the factory building located behind, are also impressive.
Vitra Fire Station by Zaha Hadid
When an architect's ideals are realized through design, there's a perfect match, but the bewilderment when there's a gap between ideals and reality is profound... Among the buildings that struggled with the gap between ideals and reality is the Vitra Fire Station. The first building by Zaha Hadid, an Iraqi-British architect known as a 'Paper Architect', which was made for the Vitra complex severely damaged by fire. However, the firefighters working inside suffered from headaches and vomiting, and with a new, large fire station nearby, the building lost its function as a fire station and became a furniture exhibition and is now used for conferences and workshops. I felt a sense of solidarity with the unnamed firefighters who complained of nausea from the uncomfortable concrete structures with sharp acute angles. Over time, visiting Vitra for the second time, Hadid's fire station was still uncomfortable. However, thinking of it as her first work, who suddenly became a star in the sky three months prior, I viewed the fire station with a less sharp heart and went inside. On my first visit, I was too panicked to notice, but this time I saw the landscape I had missed. The most important thing for Hadid in a fire station would have been to launch the fire trucks as soon as possible. And that intention is seen in every line pointing towards the exit for the fire trucks, leading to many lines placed at angles rather than standing straight. The reasons that made me and the firefighters uncomfortable were these slanted lines. Still, having seen it once, I was less bewildered and dizzy than the first time. Upon finishing the tour, I still found the building uncomfortable but not dislikeable. It was a happening created because of a functional building sticking to its function. The first-visit me knew nothing. (Not that I know much more now...) If I were to visit Hadid's Vitra Fire Station again, how would I view this building, and what thoughts would I have inside it? As I walked out with these questions, the sight of a chair with slanted lines outside made me shout, 'Sister Hadid wins'. I look forward to the third meeting at this place with a consistent tone.
VitraHaus
A showroom that looks like stacked containers. It is not an overstatement to call it a premium version of IKEA, and it is one of the places within the Vitra Campus that can be viewed without a tour. Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, it is a building that is fun to walk around and take photos from all sides, just like the Vitra Design Museum, offering a mix of simplicity and complexity. The interior serves as a showroom and flagship store for the Vitra furniture company, showcasing samples of spaces we reside in, such as libraries, relaxation areas, dining areas, and playrooms, using Vitra's furniture. The view of the vineyards through the windows is also splendid. In some areas, you can see the process of making sofas, and the museum shop on the first floor offers a space where you can buy miniatures of furniture produced by Vitra, various books, and design items. It’s a place where one feels the temptation to make purchases but manages to resist due to practical reasons.
Vitra Conference Pavilion
The most neat building on the Vitra Campus. Located behind the playful dancing design museum of Frank Gehry is the Conference Pavilion, a work of Japan's Tadao Ando.
As its name suggests, the building was planned and constructed for the purpose of external events and conferences. Entering through the long approach, one encounters a neat and simple space. Although the side facing the road is all made of glass, the space is filled with a neat and serene atmosphere that seems to block out all the noise from outside. The lounge area located below ground level has such a bright atmosphere that it doesn't feel like it's underground at all. It was a place that seemed to inspire ideas while strolling through the calm and peaceful space.
Although it is a calm and static space, the view through the large window, which seems to show cars running over the building's exterior wall, elicits laughter. It is an aspect that shows Ando's wit in creating a fun view using an optical illusion.
Vitra Schaudepot
The Vitra Schaudepot, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, aligns in its continuity with the factory buildings by Alvaro Siza through its use of color and design. Its solemn exterior, comprising red brick walls and a seemingly fragile roof simply resting on top, prompts one to wonder about the building's purpose. Inside, contrasting with the exterior's red, the interior's silver tone and aligned lighting present a maximally simplified aesthetic space where numerous historically significant chairs and furniture pieces created by architects are casually displayed. Since the early 20th century, architects started to engage and control every aspect of construction, including architecture, interior design, furniture, and lighting, as furniture from previous eras did not fit their designs. They began crafting their own furniture to fill their buildings, and although not all their philosophies or intentions can be fully understood, many of these elegantly cool furniture pieces that were simply stacked in the space still possess a sophisticated charm today.