The Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, a small German town near Basel, is a wonderful blend of incredible buildings designed by renowned architects. The campus houses the Vitra factory and there are many interesting things to explore here. You can ride a thirty-metre-high slide that hangs from a viewing tower, visit a Design Museum that takes you back to the days of the GDR, and discover how the most iconic pieces of furniture were created at the VitraHaus showroom. If you have a passion for architecture and design, Vitra Campus is a must-see destination.
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What’s on at the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein
The Vitra Campus offer an insight on the cultural and commercial aspects of Vitra brand. Built as a factory for chairs and sofas designed by Vitra, the site is now a tourist destination. Architecture and design enthusiasts from everywhere come here specifically to see the iconic buildings by Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry, and Herzog & de Meuron.
Even if you cannot distinguish the different styles, walking through the Vitra Campus is totally inspiring. Some attractions are a house made up of house-shaped modules and irregular concrete structures looking like sheets of paper.
The VitraHaus showroom
The first building you will see on entering the Campus is the VitraHaus, i.e. the home of Vitra. It is noticeable from afar and does not go unnoticed. Established as a showroom to display the entire collection of branded home furniture, it has become an attraction over time.
Its architectural structure is made up of modules in the shape of a house. Inside you can see interesting interior design displays, divided by floor/module. In the VitraHaus, you can buy Vitra furniture, models of its most iconic products or design books.
At the VitraHaus you’ll learn how some iconic pieces of furniture fit perfectly into homes. After visiting this showroom, you will dream of unique design pieces in your living room.
Vitra is involved in promoting art and architecture, as well as the design and production of furniture elements. The top floor of the VitraHaus is called the loft, and the design studio Charlap Hyman & Herrero redesigned it like a film set in 2020.
The Vitra Design Museum
The Vitra Design Museum opened in 1989 in two buildings designed by Frank Gehry. It has been one of the world’s leading design museums ever since. Its purpose is to disseminate the culture of design and its evolution over time in art and architecture.
I really enjoyed the exhibition on German design and the difference in product development between East and West Germany before unification. You will probably recognise the style of many items on display because they are taken up in the rest of Europe by widely used objects. The plastic egg cups are similar, if not identical, to those in your parents’ or grandparents’ kitchen.
A curious part of the exhibition relates European design to the Memphis group of Italian designer Ettore Sottsass between kitsch and culture. Walking around the Vitra Design Museum, you can discover how the style and fashions of furniture elements have always been fluid and globalised, affecting the taste of ordinary people.
The Vitra Schaudepot exhibition-warehouse
The furniture collection gathered in the Vitra Campus buildings is one of the most important in the world. There are more than 7000 pieces of design from 1800 to the present day. Still, today numerous designers producing a vast number of lighting elements and objects. Vitra Schaudepot, a warehouse exhibition space opened in 2016, hosts the collection and makes it accessible to the public.
Designed by Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, the Vitra Schaudepot is an actual warehouse, not a museum or exhibition. More than a museum, imagine the basement of IKEA where you go to collect your dismantled furniture. Some design pieces are so iconic that you will recognise them even without being an enthusiast.
The Vitra Slide Tower
Terrifying is the word I would use to describe the very tall slide at the Vitra Campus! Despite this, the Vitra Slide Tower is a structure that is worth the trip alone. The structure designed by Carsten Höller is 30 metres high and is located halfway between the north and south parts of the Campus.
Its purpose as a viewing tower is to offer a unique view of the Vitra Campus and an incredible adventure through one of the scariest slides ever. I didn’t dare to slide down the Vitra Slide Tower, but it is an experience not to be missed if you love very tall slides.
Zaha Hadid’s fire station
Inside the Vitra Campus is a unique fire station, an example of contemporary architecture. Designed by the Anglo-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, it has imposing irregular volumes that contrast with the shapes and layout of the other adjacent structures on the Campus.
Initially, this building was an actual fire station. However, you do not expect emergency vehicles to come out. Today, Zaha Hadid’s fire station is a venue for events and installations of the Vitra brand and its Design Museum.
Practical information for visiting the Vitra Campus
I recommend visiting the Vitra Campus during an on-the-road trip to Germany or Switzerland. You can also get there by public transport from nearby Basel. Still, the convenience of the free car park, which can also accommodate camper vans and motorhomes, really entices you to get there by motor vehicle!
The car park is vast, conveniently located at the entrance to the campus park and close to the flower garden you can walk through. Within the area, there are also two very lovely cafés for a coffee break or lunch, the VitraHaus Café and the Depot Deli, if you decide to spend the whole day here.
Once you have left your vehicle in the car park, you can comfortably walk around, taking small children in prams. Although the Vitra Campus is a complex designed for lovers of architecture and design, you can easily visit it with young travellers.
The entire exhibition area is, in fact, suitable for children. The only thing they cannot touch are the chairs on display in the Schaudepot. In addition, no child or young person can resist the lure of the Vitra Slide Tower.
Admission to the Vitra Campus is free of charge. At the same time, the Vitra Design Museum and Shaudepot combination ticket costs €19. Still, you can also choose to visit the Design Museum or the Schaudepot individually. You can also take a Vitra Campus tour to learn more about Vitra’s creative or architectural aspects.
Vitra Campus | Vitra Design Museum | Vitra Shaudepot
Charles-Eames-Straße, 2
79576 Weil am Rhein, Germania
I hope you have enjoyed this dive into the world of Vitra and that it has inspired you to discover more about German and European design. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.