Next stop: design. A trip with Christian Brändle on tram number 4, Zurich’s design and culture line.
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Intro
Zurich’s trams are as much a part of the cityscape as the lake is part of the countryside around Zurich. One tram line is particularly noteworthy: tram line number 4. It links many of the highlights that Zurich has to offer in terms of design and culture. One institution has three exhibition venues along the line: Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich’s design museum. Museum director Christian Brändle takes us on a ride on tram number 4, following the design and culture route.
Zurich
The cosmopolitan city by the water combines creative urban life with nature in all its glory. Zurich is abuzz with activity day and night with countless events, diverse museums and its very own food festival, not to mention Switzerland’s most vibrant nightlife.
Hint
Zurich is a capital of design.
This is already evident in the railway station: the iconic station clock by Hans Hilfiker is regarded as an absolute deign classic and has been copied the world over. The Landi bench from Burri, designed for the Swiss national exhibition in 1939, is found in outdoor areas throughout the city. Typically Swiss typography, for example, the Helvetica typeface designed by Max Miedinger from Zurich, can be found all over the city.
Zurich is a dream destination for anyone interested in design and architecture.
He knows a thing or two about Swiss design. Christian Brändle, Director of the Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich.
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Christian Brändle knows Zurich inside out from a design perspective.
A native of Basel, he took over the management of the Museum für Gestaltung Zurich at the tender age of 33. Brändle has lived in Zurich ever since he studied architecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH). A father of two, he not only appreciates the city’s proximity to nature, Lake Zurich and the River Limmat, but also its cosmopolitan flair.
Zurich is an open-minded city where many things are possible. Even modest projects have a shot at great success.
Design at three sites.
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Christian Brändle has been Director of the Museum für Gestaltung Zurich for 17 years.
Founded in 1875, the museum presents exhibitions from the areas of industrial and product design, graphics, typography, photography, posters, films, furniture, fashion, jewellery, arts and crafts, architecture and scenography at its two locations on Ausstellungsstrasse and in the Toni-Areal. It also organises shows at the Le Corbusier Pavilion by Lake Zurich, which is open to the public in the summer months. Since its inception, the Museum für Gestaltung has been part of the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). This also has a major influence on how design is studied and presented at the museum.
Our aim is to understand: what is in the DNA of design? How is it developed? What are the processes that go on in the background?
The design tram.
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The museum’s three exhibition locations are dotted throughout the city.
However, they all have one thing in common: all three design houses are linked by tram line number 4. The route takes you from the Toni-Areal in the urban district of Zurich-West via the main building on Ausstellungsstrasse to the Le Corbusier Pavilion with its stunning location by Lake Zurich.
When I travel to the various museum locations with my team, I often take tram line number 4.
The culture line.
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The best of Zurich culture on a single line.
Museum Director Brändle is not the only person for whom the Number Four is the first choice of transport. Alongside the Museum für Gestaltung, many other highlights of Zurich’s cultural life are found on this line, from fine art, architecture, theatre and opera to art in public spaces.
On tram line number 4 you’ll find numerous highlights of Zurich’s cultural life laid out like a string of pearls – with just one ticket.
