Now that summer is officially over, I can officially declare that the best part about this past season was my visit to Vitra with Be Original Americas, an organization we’ve shared before whose mission is dedicated to educating and promoting the importance of original design. (You might have caught the whole trip on Instagram Story if you’re following us over on @designmilk!) Vitra is a tremendous supporter of the program so I got to tag along with the 2017 Be Original Americas Fellows, Tom Groom and Irene Lee, to learn firsthand from Vitra about what it means to be an original design and how do fakes and copies measure up to the originals (spoiler alert: they don’t and never will).
There’s a corner in Switzerland where, in 10 miles in each direction, you can be in France, Germany or Switzerland. During our trip, we visited the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany and the Vitra headquarters in Birsfelden, Switzerland.
If you didn’t already know, the Vitra Campus is home to some of most incredible architecture and design: the VitraHaus designed by Herzod & de Meuron, the Vitra Design Museum designed by Frank Gehry, the Fire Station designed by Zaha Hadid, and so much more. An interesting take away I got from the trip is that Vitra is not just as a brand but a continuing project, like that of Apple or Google, in that it is constantly looking for new, innovative ways to spotlight good design, discover emerging talent, celebrate design with the community, and create conversation about the significance of originality.
