At the end of the road, past Álvaro Siza’s unembellished brick Fac-
tory Building (1994), you arrive at Zaha Hadid’s Fire Station
(1993). Yet, it is Herzog & de Meuron’s Vitra House and Lounge
Chair Atelier that enraptures visitors. On grounds dotted with wild-
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stacked atop each other, like matchsticks that have tumbled from
their box. Serving as a showroom, visitors can watch as an Eames
Lounge Chair is fabricated, meander through showrooms and or-
der furniture in this arresting structure. It doesn’t stop there, by
the end of 2012 Japanese architecture duo SANAA will open their
pioneering Production Hall. Here two semi-circular concrete shells,
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a space for production and logistics.
The space encourages mind and body to roam, to explore, to be
creative. It’s not an attempt to showcase rising stars or the
latest fashion in architecture and they’re not afraid to return to
architects they’ve used in the past. The architects they’ve chosen
speak through their buildings as the designers speak through
their objects. Although this is an industrial park with the func-
tional objective of manufacturing and displaying furniture, it is
also a cultural destination for lovers of architecture and
a reflection of Vitra’s commitment to forward thinking, collabo-
ration and sensibility.
