The Vitra Schaudepot: Architecture, Ideas, Objects

The Vitra Design Museum Collection is one of the most important design collections in the world. It totals around 20,000 items, including 7,000 pieces of furniture, over 1,000 lighting objects and archives and estates from designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, Verner Panton and Alexander Girard. In summer 2016, the museum opened a building by architects Herzog & de Meuron to permanently present this collection: the Vitra Schaudepot. The centerpiece of the Schaudepot is a permanent exhibition of more than 400 key objects of modern furniture design from 1800 to the present. This presentation is complemented by smaller temporary exhibitions on themes related to the collection, a material library and an extensive digital catalogue. The Schaudepot constitutes the largest permanent exhibition on modern furniture design and at the same time a ‘transparent design museum’, making visible the work of the museum in all its facets. The publication sheds light on different aspects of the Schaudepot. The iconic building is illustrated in largescale photographs and drawings. The presentation of the collection in the interior is likewise shown using insightful imagery, augmented by a chronological overview of the exhibited objects. Short essays embed the objects within the context of design history and bring to light the curatorial decision-making behind the presented objects. The book is an attractive field guide through the history of furniture design and act as a portal to understand the Vitra Design Museum’s unique collection – at the same time being the publication on one of the latest buildings by star architects Herzog & de Meuron.