Vitra Design Museum
2024 Exhibition Overview
Transform! Designing the Future of Energy
March 23 - September 1, 2024
Energy is the force that keeps our society going; energy is political; energy is invisible. The buildings, infrastructures, and devices for generating, distributing, and using energy are products of design, however, and design has a central role to play in the urgently needed transformation of the energy system. The exhibition »Transform! Designing the Future of Energy« explores the ongoing energy transition from a design perspective: From devices for harvesting renewable energy to solar buildings and wind turbines, from smart mobility to self-sufficient cities. The exhibition probes into the global thirst for energy and examines how design can assist us in switching to renewable energies and reducing our energy consumption. What action do industry and politics need to take, what can each individual contribute to a successful energy transition?
Nike Designs: Form Follows Motion
September 21, 2024 - March 3, 2025
In autumn 2024, the Vitra Design Museum will present a major exhibition that explores the design history of Nike, one of the world’s most revered sports brands. The exhibition will follow the evolution of iconic Nike objects through a focused design lens, tracing milestones and inspirations across the company’s 50-year legacy. It will shine a spotlight on Nike's scientific research in apparel, footwear design, and accessories, which always begins with closely examining the body in motion, ultimately melding technology and visionary concepts to redefine functional aesthetics. For the first time, the exhibition will present a large selection of materials from Nike’s design archives, including drawings, prototypes, historic film footage and other documents. Coinciding with the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, the exhibition looks at Nike as the ideal case study for the close connection between design and sports – from the underlying scientific research to the key role of sports and sports apparel in today’s pop culture.
Science Fiction Design: From Space Age to Metaverse
May 18, 2024 - May 11, 2025
How was and is the future being imagined in design? The annual presentation at the Vitra Schaudepot is dedicated to the vision of a new world, and crosses a bridge from the furnishing in early science fiction movies to design for virtual spaces. Groundbreaking design objects from the collection of the Vitra Design Museum show how technical innovations and design utopias have found their way into our everyday lives and directly shape our everyday world.