Garden Futures
Designing with Nature

GUIDED TOURS

»Garden Futures« – Guided tour at the Vitra Design Museum (DE/EN)
Starting from 8 April 2023: Regular tours in German
on Saturdays, Sundays and National Holidays
12 pm, Vitra Design Museum

Tours in English upon request
Inquiries and bookings: info@design-museum.de

Oudolf Garten – Guided tour at the Vitra Campus (DE/EN)
Guided tours in German:
7 May – 5 November 2023, on Sundays and National Holidays, 11 am, Vitra Design Museum
Guided tours in English:
6. May – 4. November 2023, in Saturdays, 11 am, Vitra Design Museum

EVENTS

Garden Futures: Designing with Nature
OPENING (DE/EN) | 24 March 2023
6 pm, Fire Station
7 pm, Vitra Design Museum
»Garden Futures« at the Vitra Design Museum explores the history and future of the modern garden. On the occasion of its opening, exhibition curators Viviane Stappmanns (Vitra Design Museum) and Marten Kuijpers (Nieuwe Instituut) will talk with Dr. Monika Egerer, Professor at the TUM for Urban Productive Ecosystems, designer Gavin Munro, founder of the design studio Full Grown, and Simone Farresin, one of the founders of the design studio Formafantasma, about how ecological, historical, political and social forces shape the discipline of design today.

Free admission, registration: events@design-museum.de

Vertical Gardens: Stefano Boeri
TALK (EN) | 30 March 2023
6.30 pm, Vitra Schaudepot
The Italian architect Stefano Boeri is best known for his »Bosco Verticale« (2014), a set of two green residential towers in Milan. To use the urban space as efficiently as possible, he designed façades integrating thousands of plants that now improve the microclimate, mitigate noise, dust, and heat, and provide habitats for birds and insects. Do vertical gardens hold out a promise for more liveable cities? Can they help transform urban spaces into hubs of biodiversity? Stefano Boeri presents some of his projects and answers your questions.

Free admission, registration not required

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

Queer Nature Walk: Céline Baumann
SPECIAL (DE) | 11 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

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) | 10 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
Registration: www.design-museum.de/dinner

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

WORKSHOPS

Drop-In Workshop: Make Your Own Soap
In Cooperation with Weleda 
Sunday | 7 May 2023 | 19 August 2023 
2–6 pm, Vitra Design Museum 
The Sumerians of southern Mesopotamia were the first to produce soap in the third century B.C. Since their time, many different methods for producing this solid fat-based cleansing agent have evolved, often using flowers and herbs from the garden to impart their fragrance. Make your own soap in this family friendly workshop! Soap granules and dried flowers are provided. In collaboration with Weleda.

Free admission, registration not required

Living Sculptures 
Saturday | 9 September 2023 
10.30 am, Vitra Schaudepot 

Willows provide the material for traditional wickerwork like baskets and chairs. But what if the woven withies send out roots and leaves? What if our home and garden decorations come alive? Product designer Katharina Berger shows participants in this workshop how to weave sculptures and objects from locally sourced withies. Planted in pots or garden beds, they soon begin to grow. 

€100.00 per person 

You can find all information on the exhibition here.