Het Huis Stoclet in Brussel - Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten Aalst

The Vitra Design Museum
Following a major fire in 1981, the company Vitra has pursued a conscious approach to its
own architecture, starting with the commission awarded to the English architect Nicholas
Grimshaw to build a new factory hall. His high-tech architecture was seen as upholding
the vision of Vitra as an enterprise synonymous with technical excellence.
After completion of the first structure, he was assigned the task of developing a master
plan for the Vitra grounds. This idea of "corporate identity architecture" was called into
question, however, by the 1984 erection of the sculpture "Balancing Tools" by Claes
Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. It served as the trigger for an entirely new
architectural concept: deliberately contrasting works of architecture were to confront one
another and imbue the site with vitality and a distinctive identity. In keeping with this idea,
Vitra commissioned a different architect for each building project. Such as Frank O. Gehry,
for example, who designed the expressive main building of the Vitra Design Museum with
its towers, ramps and cubes that was dedicated on 3 November 1989.
Even though there is certainly no lack of significant contemporary buildings in the Basel
region: for some years now, the biggest draw and place with the most far-reaching
international presence has been the premises of the Vitra company's factory in Weil am
Rhein. This is not solely due to the illustrious architects like Frank O. Gehry, Tadao Ando,
Zaha Hadid, Nicholas Grimshaw and Alvaro Siza who have all realised significant designs
here at the invitation of company head Rolf Fehlbaum. It is primarily because of the
unique density and quality of the buildings assembled here in such a compact space. No
wonder, then, that the company grounds have emerged as a Mecca for architecture lovers
from all over the world in the past one and a half decades. To accommodate the extensive
public interest in the buildings on the Vitra site, the Vitra Design Museum offers regular
guided architectural tours in numerous languages.
The starting point for the tour is Gehry's sculptural-expressionistic museum building,
completed in 1989 - the first of the California architect's buildings to be realised in Europe.
The Conference Pavilion by Japan's Tadao Ando was also a European premiere. The
introverted structure is visually impressive with its formal restraint and reduction to a few
materials. Along with the museum and Conference Pavilion, the Fire Station by Londonbased
Zaha Hadid is one of the highlights of the tour. Long an icon of deconstructivist
architecture, this was the first work ever to be realised by the master architect who is
today entrusted with prestigious major commissions throughout the world.