If you subscribe to the school of thought that pleasure may be found in the melding of art and architecture and the uncommon beauty of common things, then a pilgrimage to the architectural park known as Vitra Campus located in Weil am Rhein in Germany may be just the thing to ignite your aesthetic senses.
The tiny German town of Weil am Rhein has long been a magnet for those with an eye for detail, a penchant for striking forms and clever curves, and an appreciation of making everyday living extraordinary. This town on the east bank of the River Rhine cannot be compared to Basel in size or cosmopolitan vibe, but it is veritable architectural gem, primarily because it is the home of the Vitra Campus, a design wonderland showcasing the works of some of the biggest names in 20th century architecture, including Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Nicholas Grimshaw, Tadao Ando, Buckminster Fuller among others. The 25,000 ha site is the brainchild of the Fehlbaum family which founded furniture company Vitra in 1953. Today, it remains a design mecca that has no equal in the world.
The centrepiece of the campus is the Vitra Design Museum designed by none other than the great Frank Gehry (b. 1929). Every year, the museum organises up to ten exhibitions on a wide range of topics about design and architecture, which are shown in the main building by Gehry.
An inventor, philosopher and maverick educator, Buckminster Fuller (1895 – 1983) is remembered for his concept of Spaceship Earth as well as his visionary creations. He popularized the geodesic dome as a kind of energy-efficient mass housing that could be transported by aircraft. It was his expression of synergetic geometry, a structure that embodies the principle of “doing more with less”, he says. Since the creation of the Geodesic Dome on Vitra Campus in 1975 (in collaboration with Howard Thomas), it has been used as a venue for exhibitions and artistic performance. That, too, is one of Fuller’s visionary ideas.
Everyone loves a lovely piece of outdoor sculpture. “Balancing Tools” by American sculptors Class Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen was commissioned by the children of Vitra founder Willi Fehlbaum and presented to him on his 70th birthday in 1984. The quirky sculptures included a giant hammer, a screwdriver and one handle of a part pliers. Tilted and turning at the very edge of control, the dynamic relation of the three components invokes an acrobatic act.
The third level of VitraHaus is dedicated to the brand’s classics. An eye-catching classic is the Marshmallow Sofa designed by Yale-trained George Nelson (1908 – 1986), best admired together with his equally charming Sunflower wall clock.
Although they date back to the 1950s, there’s a certain timelessness about Isamu Noguchi’s Akari lamps. While he did not receive a formal education, Noguchi (1904 – 1988) enjoyed a formidable reputation as a versatile designer, sculptor, and landscape architect. The Akari lamps, weightless columns of beautiful luminosity inspired by organic shapes, are among his best-known works.
