Basel

A travel diary

text: Sarah Knigge

Guide

June 2023

text: Sarah Knigge

This autumn, See All This Art Magazine invites you on a tailor-made trip to Basel, for a weekend filled with unforgettable encounters. Meet artists in their studios and have dinner with Verner Panton’s daughter Carin. Take part in an exclusive private tour by world renowned photographer Iwan Baan, and stroll through the Piet Oudolf garden at the Vitra Campus. Visit the impressive collections of Fondation Beyeler and the Tinguely Museum.

text: Sarah Knigge

Fig 1. Basel

Buckminster Fuller

'When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty, but when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong'

1. Vitra Campus

Charles-Eames-Straße 2, Weil am Rhein

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Fig 2. Vitra Schaudepot, Rolf Fehlbaum's chair collection

Charles-Eames-Straße 2, Weil am Rhein

Just outside of Basel, across the border is Vitra Campus: a production facility-cum-design enthusiast’s dream destination. The campus has expanded from its factory origins with showrooms, visitors buildings, and a museum designed by Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Herzog & De Meuron and more. A highlight is the Schaudepot, German for show depot, a building where the seemingly limitless chair collection of Vitra CEO emeritus Rolf Fehlbaum is displayed. Currently on view is the exhibition Garden Futures: Designing with Nature.

Fig 3. Herzog & De Meuron, Vitrahaus showroom

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Fig 4. Buckminster Fuller's Vitra Campus Dome

On the Vitra Campus, you’ll find 12 buildings plus numerous sculptures and design structures as well as a dome by Buckminster Fuller.

2. Buckminster Fuller's dome at Vitra Campus

Fig 5. Buckminster Fuller

2. Buckminster Fuller's dome at Vitra Campus

Charles-Eames-Straße 2, Weil am Rhein

American architect Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) designed the eponymous geodesic dome in response to his own experiences during the Second World War. The easy to build and collapse structure was hailed for the ease and efficiency with which it could provide shelter in the field and was even trialed as a solution to the housing shortage in the United States at the time. The dome at Vitra Campus was originally used as a car showroom when it was built in the 1970’s in Detroit but today functions as a space for events and exhibitions. The principle behind the structure was ‘doing more with less’, resulting in the largest volume of interior space using the least amount of materials. A simple but revolutionary design, the immensely energy efficient dome demands 30% less energy than rectangular homes: ‘There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.’

3. Gupi

Römerstraße 1, 79576 Weil am Rhein

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Fig 6. Gupi

Römerstraße 1, 79576 Weil am Rhein

Head down the road from Vitra Campus to the Läublin Park, a historical country estate and find yourself a table for lunch or a glass of wine at Cafe Gupi. The Michelin Bib Gourmand awarded wine bar-restaurant is located in what was once the gardener’s house. Be sure to book in advance to secure a table on the summer terrace.

4. 24-Stop Walk

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Fig 7. Rehberger's 24-Stop Walk

4. 24-Stop Walk

Uniting Vitra Campus with its neighbour Fondation Beyeler across the border, is the 24 stops Rehberger-Weg. Designed by artist Tobias Rehberger, the walking path integrates the two cultural institutions and their visitors with the surrounding natural landscape. ‘My idea was to turn simple elements showing the way into a system that would give a whole new meaning to the space and give extra value to the walking experience. I just wanted to create something that would inspire visitors to go on a walking tour’, Rehberger explains. Spanning five kilometres in total, the route is defined by 24 sculptural way markers created by the artist

5. Fondation Beyler

Baselstrasse 101, Basel

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Fig 8. Exhibition at Fondation Beyeler. Sculptures by Alberto-Giacometti and Picasso paintings

Baselstrasse 101, Basel

‘One instantly gets a sense of vision when entering the Fondation Beyeler. It’s a place where art and everything that surrounds and supports it seem to be truly balanced.’ At the top (or bottom) of the 24-stop Rehberger web, mirroring Vitra Campus from the Swiss side of the border, you’ll find Fondation Beyeler. The modern and contemporary art centre is Switzerland’s most visited museum, for the striking building design by architect Renzo Piano and its beautiful art collection alike.

6. Jugendherberge Basel

St Alban-Kirchrain 10, Basel

Fig 9. Jugendherberge Basel, hotel

St Alban-Kirchrain 10, Basel

Basel’s reputation for being an architectural capital reaches into even the most unlikely corners of the city. Far from the garish interiors we have come to expect from youth hostels, the space at Jugendherberge Basel is an oasis of calm in the centre of the city, a 48-bed boarding house with brutalist interiors and an abundance of trees around the building. Enjoy a drink on the large wooden terrace outside with a view of the St Alban
pond.

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Fig 10. Jugendherberge Basel

7. Museum Tinguely

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Fig 11. Jean Tinguely, Eloge de la Folie

7. Museum Tinguely

Paul Sacher-Anlage 2, Basel

‘We live in a wheeled civilisation’, Jean Tinguely (1925-1991) stated, and once you’ve visited the museum dedicated to the life and work of this Swiss artist, you can’t say otherwise. Everything had to be in motion, even his art works: machine sculptures, do-it-yourself drawing machines, and performances. The building, designed by Mario Botta hosts the world’s largest kinetic art collection and temporary exhibitions with contemporary artists.

Fig 12. Jean Tinguely

8. Kunsthalle Basel

Steinenberg 7, Basel

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Fig 13. Ceiling installation by Verner Panton

Steinenberg 7, Basel

‘It was just a bit sad, and no one wanted to sit in it’, Martin Hatebur, president of Kunsthalle Basel, said about the centre room of the restaurant. Now, it took center stage, thanks to the jaw-dropping ceiling lamps with thousands of shells, made by Verner Panton (1926-1998). The renowned Danish designer had created it for his home in the 1970s, but it had laid in storage for a while, until his wife and daughter suggested it should be re-installed at the place where Panton frequently enjoyed a dinner himself.

Fig 14. Kraft hotel staircase

9. Krafft Basel

Rheingasse 12, Basel

Overlooking the river Rhine, with a terrace that spills out onto the river bank in the spring, is the four-star hotel Krafft Basel. Beautifully decorated, so be sure to choose a river view room for the unbeatable experience of watching the sunset over the old town. The ornate staircase in the heart of the hotel has maintained its railing from 1873.