Dome, Richard Buckminster Fuller

Mud huts, timber dwellings, stone houses—architectural structures around the world have evolved to be perfectly adapted to the surrounding environment, climate and available building materials. They offer valuable inspiration for the current interest in sustainable, resource-efficient construction. Thirty-one models show traditional architecture from places like China, Italy, Morocco and Mali, as well as a selection of contemporary structures by Carin Smuts, Studio Mumbai, Simon Velez, Rural Studio and others. Films, photographs and plans show how the buildings are constructed and convey the everyday lives of their inhabitants.

Vitra Design Museum

Since the invention of the incandescent light bulb, the design of artificial lighting has been one of the most fascinating tasks of designers, artists and architects. This is attested by numerous icons of design history, such as the famous Bauhaus lamp by Wilhelm Wagenfeld. In recent years, there has been a fundamental expansion of lighting applications. With »Lightopia«, the Vitra Design Museum is dedicating the first comprehensive exhibition to this transformational development. The show will feature current works by such artists and designers as Olafur Eliasson, Rogier van der Heide and mischer’traxler, which demonstrate the new applications of light while also emphasising its archaic, emotional power. Contemporary objects are juxtaposed with classic designs from the museum’s lighting collection.