Specials
Garden and City: The Merian Gardens
SPECIAL (DE) | 24 April 2023
6 pm, Merian Gardens Basel
The Merian Gardens are a magical place. Once the country estate of agronomist and philanthropist Christoph Merian, today a botanic garden, they offer a green and leafy refuge in the teeming city. Led by Bettina Hamel, Manager of the Merian Gardens, and Katrin Hager, Head of Education & Visitor Experience at the Vitra Design Museum, you will discover how our garden ideals have changed over time, see the impacts of urbanisation on the function of spaces, and find out more about the importance of gardens for a more sustainable future.
In cooperation with the Wüstenrot Foundation
Free admission, registration not required
Meeting Point: Neue Scheune
Hot Cities: Lessons from Arab Architecture
OPENING (EN) | 28 April 2023
6 pm, Vitra Design Museum Gallery
»Hot Cities« looks at the metropolises of the Arab-speaking world to learn how they and their inhabitants cope with the region’s harsh climate. Can their architectural and urban design solutions help us make our environments more climate-resilient? »Hot Cities« shows how architects combine traditional vernaculars and modern technologies to respond to the challenges of the future. The exhibition presents urban case studies providing answers to many questions now raised by climate change. Meet the curators Ahmed and Rashid bin Shabib and celebrate the exhibition opening with us!
Free admission, registration not required
Queer Nature Walk: Céline Baumann
SPECIAL (DE) | 4 May 2023
6 pm, Vitra Design Museum
»Queer Nature« explores the little-known, often overlooked and rare intimate behaviours of the botanic world. The project examines the links between ecological thinking and queer theory and celebrates the multitude of forms, colours, and genders all around us. On this walk round the Vitra Campus and its natural surroundings, French landscape architect Céline Baumann will explain queer nature theory and relate how she came to discover and study diversity in the botanic world.
In cooperation with the Wüstenrot Foundation
Free admission, registration: events@design-museum.de
Open House Basel: Japanese Architecture on the Vitra Campus
SPECIAL (DE/EN) | 7 May 2023
11 am – 4 pm, Vitra Design Museum
In 2022, another highlight of Japanese architecture was added to the unique ensemble on the Vitra Campus: the Umbrella House by Kazuo Shinohara (1925–2006), originally built in Tokyo in 1961. Join a guided tour of the building and learn more about the many facets of Japanese architecture while comparing the Umbrella House with other buildings by Japanese architects on the Vitra Campus – the Conference Pavilion by Tadao Ando (1993) and the Factory Building by SANAA (2012).
Meeting Point: Vitra Design Museum Gallery
German: 11 and 12 am, 2 and 3 pm
English: 1 and 4 pm
Free admission
Registration: www.openhouse-basel.org
Garden Futures: Designing with Nature
WEDNESDAY MATINEE (DE) | 31 May 2023
10 am, Vitra Design Museum
Join a guided tour of »Garden Futures: Designing with Nature« and find out about the exhibition’s underlying concept, background, and development. The tour includes a visit to the Oudolf Garden.
€10.00 per person, registration not required
Allotment Enthusiasts: Meet the Gardeners
In Cooperation with Wüstenrot Foundation
SPECIAL (DE) | 24 June 2023
2 pm, Am Hörnli Allotment Gardens, Basel (CH)
Allotments enable urban dwellers to harvest the benefits of gardening and growing their own fruit, flowers, and vegetables – but competition from the building industry is strong. Join Dr Karin Kook, Head of Allotment Gardens and Garden Advice at the Canton of Basel-City, on a walk through a local community garden. Discover the ecological and social significance of urban gardens, learn about new concepts, and meet some of the local gardeners and explore their plots. After the tour, why not adjourn to the local garden café to share gardening tips and stories?
Free admission, registration: events@design-museum.de
Walk of Discovery
In Cooperation with Wüstenrot Foundation
SPECIAL (DE) | 25 June 2023
10.30 am, Vitra Design Museum
For a wonderful day out with your family, join nature guide Armin Wikmann on a walk from the Oudolf Garden to nearby Tüllinger Hill. You will discover a range of different garden forms and natural habitats and learn about their social, cultural, and ecological significance. The walk ends with a picnic in a traditional meadow orchard where participants can share their impressions and look back on the day’s experiences.
Free admission, registration: events@design-museum.de
Oudolf Garden
WEDNESDAY MATINEE (DE) | 5 July 2023
10 am, Vitra Design Museum
The garden created by Dutch designer Piet Oudolf in 2020 adds another facet to the Vitra Campus. The landscape gardener turned to perennial plants and favoured an unconventional layout. Join a guided tour and learn about the garden’s architecture and design!
€10.00 per person, registration not required
Green Eating – Guided Tour and Dinner
SPECIAL (DE) | 19 August 2023
6 pm, Vitra Design Museum
On the guided tour through the exhibition »Garden Futures« and the Oudolf Garden, you will discover new garden concepts promoting sustainability, wellbeing, and biodiversity. The tour is followed by dinner on the terrace of the Depot Deli, where you will have the chance to taste the fruits of gardening. If you arrive early, why not drop in at the Soapmaking Workshop?
€75.00 per person
Information on registration modalities coming soon
Artful Wilderness: How to plan a perennial garden
In Cooperation with Wüstenrot Foundation
SPECIAL (DE) | 7 September 2023
6 pm, Oudolf Garden
Many visitors to the Oudolf Garden on the Vitra Campus feel inspired to plan a perennial garden of their own. Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf relies on perennial, often selfpropagating plants. On this guided tour, Gardener Carola Ziereisen explains how the Oudolf Garden’s unconventional design matches the innovative choice of plants. She talks about developing and caring for the garden and gives helpful tips for planning your own perennial garden.
Free admission, registration: events@design-museum.de
Wunderkammer
WEDNESDAY MATINEE (DE) | 11 October 2023
10 am, Vitra Schaudepot
Our highly popular robots display has been augmented and added to. It now includes more than one thousand toy robots, space toys, comic book characters, merchandising products, and folk art from the collection of Rolf Fehlbaum, Chairman Emeritus, Vitra. Discover a world in which industry, popular culture, and imagination are united in a modern Wunderkammer!
€10.00 per person, registration not required