Swiss design

Swiss architects as designers

Le Corbusier ranks as one of the most influential architects, designers and design theorists of the 20th century. He was born as Charles-Edouard Jeanneret in 1887 at La Chaux-de-Fonds. After studying architecture, he moved to Paris where he became acquainted with figures such as the industrial designer Peter Behrens. Functional furniture was one of the elements in his concept of the house as a "living machine" – he described it as "équipement de l‘habitation". Together with his cousin Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand, he designed a system of tubular steel furniture including the Basculant Sling Chair no. B301 (approx. 1928), the Chaise Longue no. B306 (1928) and the Grand Confort Club Chair no. LC2 (1928). This modern design conveyed a new mood of aesthetic sobriety and was the epitome of the International Style.

Mario Botta, born in 1943 in Ticino, is also renowned as an architect and designer. In 1965, he began work in Le Corbusier's Paris practice, but it was only in the 1980s that he turned his attention to furniture design. His designs for the Seconda chair (1982) and the Quinta armchair (1986) are typical examples of the short-lived Matt Black Style. His Soguna Terra standard lamp dating from 1985 is regarded as an example of the more complex and objective side of post-modernism.

Max Bill and the Swiss Style

Devotees of the Bauhaus school of art were on hand in Switzerland when burgeoning industrial production began to compete with and supplant traditional craftsmanship and applied arts. Max Bill (1908-1994), an architect and also a painter, graphic artist and sculptor, exerted a major influence on Switzerland's designers. After the second world war, he headed the most important design institution, the Ulm School of Design, and also worked as a designer in his own right. His most famous works include the Ulm Stool. It can be used as a serving tray, a stool or part of a shelving unit. The Ulm Stool is still produced today according to Max Bill's plans. Other well-known examples of his design work are the simple dials for Junghans wall clocks and wristwatches, which are available again in new editions. Zurich has now honoured him by naming a square after him – the Max-Bill-Platz. Bill also influenced Switzerland's typographers. In the 1950s, a new concept of typography evolved among them. The main influences came from the Bauhaus and from contemporary industrial design, leading to the emergence of the group's very own style – known simply as the Swiss Style. One outstanding example is the Helvetica font developed in 1956 by Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann in Münchenstein near Basel. To mark its 50th anniversary, this font was the focus of an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Other renowned typographers include Adrian Frutiger, who developed the Univers font, Karl Gerstner and Walter Haettenschweiler. The typically Swiss straightforward and matter-of-fact design style is also reflected in the country's contemporary graphic art. The work of Switzerland's commercial artists is documented at the Swiss Graphic Design Foundation. Swiss Graphic Design Foundation

Other renowned designers

One of the best-known names in the field is that of Hannes Wettstein (1958-2008). This Swiss industrial designer created the "Metro", the first cable-track lighting system (1982). He is especially famous for the furniture he created: examples include the Juliette stacking chair, the Globe sofa and the tototo collection for Maxdesign. He also designed everyday products and interiors for numerous Swiss TV broadcasts. Kurt Thut was another creator of classic designs such as a "scissors table" and a fold-away featherweight wardrobe. One of the stars on the Swiss design scene is Alberto Häberli (1964). He designs furniture, items for everyday use and interiors. Häberli operates his own studio and also works for renowned international manufacturers such as Alias, De Sede, Driade, Georg Jensen, Iittala, Luceplan and Zanotta. His creations always feature delicate filigree designs that bear witness to his efficient handling of materials. In 2008, the Zurich Museum of Design devoted a retrospective to its famous alumnus. Häberli has recently been collaborating with the Pfister studio ("Atelier Pfister"). The Pfister furniture company sells furniture and objects by young designers under this brand. The collection combines a contemporary spirit, sound craftsmanship and timeless design by – among others – Atelier Oi, Claudia Caviezel and This Weber. Famous names also include Big Game, the product and interior design studio and d'Esposito & Gaillard of Lausanne, Moritz Schmid in Zurich and industrial designer Nicolas Le Moigne of Cheseaux near Lausanne.

The Freitag Brothers – everyday design classics

In 1993, the brothers Markus and Daniel Freitag were seeking ideas for a messenger bag. They wanted a sturdy, functional and water-repellent bag for their design. The heavy traffic right outside their apartment in Zurich inspired the duo to tailor a messenger bag from an old truck tarpaulin. They also made the carrying strap from a used car seat belt, and they used an old bicycle inner tube for the trim. Quite unintentionally and purely on impulse, this marked the birth of a company that today employs over 130 people. As well as the Original Messenger Bag, which can now be admired in the Museum of Modern Art in New York or the Design Museum in Zurich, Freitag now produces a varied range of bags for men and women. All the products are sold across the globe in over 450 shops, online and at proprietary Freitag stores in Berlin, Davos, Hamburg, Cologne, Vienna, New York, Tokyo, Zurich and Lausanne. Even today, the two brothers still design their own models.

Vitra – a melting pot for design chairs

Willy Fehlbaum founded the Vitra furniture company at Weil am Rhein in 1950. His son Rolf took over management of the company in 1977, and he commissioned famous architects such as Frank O. Gehry and others to redesign and extend the factory. Fehlmann collected classical chairs dating from the post-war era, and he added more items to his collection from the period between 1880 and 1945. These form the basis for the collection that is now on show at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein.

Further links

Museum for Design, Design Collection mudac Lausanne Vitra Design Museum Winterthur Industrial Museum