Today’s guest post is from the wonderful travel blog My Friend From Zurich. In design school we learned all about “Swiss Design,” so it would be my dream come true to go to the birthplace of modern design. Here are some places to check out if you’re ever lucky enough to find yourself in Switzerland.
Hi there, design students, welcome to Zurich! We compiled a catalog of very special things for you to do and see in Zurich. Have fun!
Museum of Design and Poster Collection
One of the first things to do is to visit the Museum of Design.
The Museum of Design at the Zurich University of the Arts is Switzerland’s leading design and visual communication museum. In its collections the museum preserves stocks of worldwide importance: The Design Collection, the Graphics Collection, the Applied Art Collection and the Poster Collection are rich in milesontes of technical and aesthetic development since the beginning of industrialisation.
Close to the Museum, you’ll find the catalog room – still a real insider Tipp – which happens to be one of the largest collection of Poster-Graphic-Design worldwide. The catalog room can be visited on request only and a very informative guided tour can be arranged. (It is closed during July and August)
Check the english website for more information and you might be interested in the project swissted by NY designer Mike Joyce.
Viaduktbögen / Freitag-Tower / Frau Gerolds Garten
You surely need a refreshment after all this information about swiss design. Stroll through the lovely streets of Kreis 5, towards Viaduktstrasse / Geroldstrasse. At the arches in the railway viaduct, the Viaduktbögen you can find lots of different nice shops, the Restaurant Markhalle, with local organic food and nearby the Josefswiese, a perfect place to sit down in the grass and relax.
Further down the Viaduktstrasse starts the Geroldstrasse. There, you’ll find the Freitag tower, where you shouldn’t only buy yourself a special souvenir, a swiss designed Freitag bag, but also walk up all the stairs and enjoy the view from the rooftop terrace.
Right behind the Freitag tower is located Frau Gerolds Garten, a temporary sun terrace, summer restaurant, arts and city garden. Terrace, bar, kitchen and toilet area are built out of ship containers and you’ll find shadow under a huge circus tent. The side walls are colorfully painted, flowerbeds and vegtable patches create a „green“ atmosphere and are used for cooking. It’s a perfect place to relax and have a chat– an urban park in the middle of Zurichs industrial district.
Btw: they also organise events like fleamarkets, readings, workshops or courses in urban gardening. Check their facebook page for more information.
The cultural center Rote Fabrik
On the edge of Zurich, located very lovely by the lake of Zurich, is the cultural center Rote Fabrik. In the worldwide design scene, it is known for breaking design-rules in the 80’s and providing a substantial input to the poster-design and the music scene.
It is a prefect get-away from the buzzing city center and offers you great concerts, parties and a restaurant with excellent and reasonable-prized organic food. Stroll through the area, sit by the lake or even take a swim.
Designomat
A Designomat is a conventional cigarette machine, filled with an extraordinary limited collection of design articles. Designers from all different design disciplines produce little treasures in the format of a cigarette box – affordable for everybody: one piece costs 8 swiss francs only and is perfect as a gift for yourself or your friends.
You can find these Designomat’s in different special locations around town, such as Kafi für dich, Z am Park, Café des Amis and some more. By the way: these are all lovely places to have a coffee or tasty food.
The website is in German only, but here you’ll find an overwiev of the offered products.
More interesting things….
- Book „swissness“ by Klaus Leuschel – swiss design worldwide in english and german
- Max Bill
- Dadaism
- Film about the Helvetica font
Tags: design, guest post, switzerland, travel, zurich
[...] Graphic and Product Designer Amanda from L.A. shares all facets of her creative interests on her amazing blog LoveCreative: Design, music, books, food, fashion and art. We loved writing a guest post with a guided tour through the home of modern design – Zurich – and hope there soon will be traveling lots of L.A. design students to our exciting city. Find the whole guest post here. [...]