Largest visitor year for the Vitra Design Museum
The Vitra Design Museum had the largest number of visitors last year since it opened in 1989.
A total of 178,707 visitors with an interest in design attended a total of 10 exhibitions at the museum throughout 2017.
These included the Schaudepot ("Display Depot"), the Gallery and the Fire Station exhibitions. The numbers correspond to an increase of 30 per cent in comparison to the previous year. The largest exhibition, "Hello, Robot - Design between People and Machines", which was visited by 40,000 people, was the museum's most successful to date.
This year, museum visitors can expect new and varied exhibitions at the Vitra Design Museum, including "Night Fever", "Design and Club Culture 1960 - today" and "Viktor Papenek: The Politics of Design."
From two makes one: "Three Apples" leave Bäumleingasse
The "Trois Pommes" Outlet at Bäumleingasse will be closed down and join the company's other shop at Freie Strasse. With this development, two minus one equals three.
Bäumleingasse in Basel is famous for its elegant shops, including “Trois Pommes”. However, this branch will soon merge with its main shop at Freie Strasse. The fashion house focuses on selling the clothes of the “most exclusive fashion labels” in the world and has shops in Basel, Zurich, St. Moritz, and Gstaad. The owners of “Trois Pommes” have not given a reason for the closure of the shop in Bäumleingasse.
Few people know that the shop was founded in Liestal in 1973 by Trudie Götz. The number three (trois) in the name comes from the first shop in Liestal which was laid out on three floors.
Swissbau opened by Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer: A fair for a branch worth 66 billion CHF
Over the next five days, Basel will become the meeting place for builders and planners. The Swissbau 2018 exhibition, with 1046 exhibitors from 17 countries, opened on Tuesday. The exhibition, which is expected to attract more than 100,000 visitors, is the most important Swiss fair for the construction industry.
At the opening ceremony, Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer said the industry was worth an annual turnover of 66 billion Swiss Francs. Swissbau takes place every second year and expects planners, construction companies, as well as specialists in investment, construction work, trade, and real estate. Builders make up around a fifth of all visitors.
Switzerland not on top
Planning permission for construction works is just at the start, Mr Maurer told the crowd. In terms of digitisation, Switzerland might be in the "upper midfield" in international terms but the goal must be to reach a top ranking position, he said. In reference to "excelling at education", Mr Maurer said there was a chance for Switzerland to improve its ranking as it is "already on top" in terms of collaboration. During the fair, the semi-finals of the Swiss masonry championship will take place.
Hans Wicki, president of the trade umbrella association «bauenschweiz» and FDP (Liberals) federal MP from Nidwalden, said there was a readiness for cooperation in terms of economy, politics, and society. "In the past we were all closer, as the NEAT project has shown, and this is necessary again," he said, adding that the fair has the role of a "mediator".
The challenge of digitisation could be tackled much better with more cooperation, according to Daniel Büchel, vice-president of the Federal Office for Energy and programme director of “Energie Schweiz”. "The industry should not wait for politicians: energy is a central aspect which needs know-how. This is costly if it is working well," he said.
It's a question of trust
Trust was essential for collaboration, according to satirist and psychoanalyst Peter Schneider. At the opening ceremony, he told members of the construction industry that "trust is the cement of social life".
"Functioning institutions create trust; otherwise a deadly mistrust spiral could evolve."
As well as trade associations, building organisations, and higher education institutes, the Swissbau fair offers 70 events for expanding networks, four of which will be organised by the fair itself. Among the topics are the energy strategy, alpine perspectives, and networking. Some relevant official bodies will also be there.
The Swissbau is a top-event in Europe even though the exhibition area (130,00 square metres), the number of exhibitors, and the number of countries they represent is smaller than in 2016. However, for Stefan Cadosch, president of the Swiss society of engineers and architects, the fair remains important because "the feel of the products cannot be experienced virtually on the website of a producer".