The Vitra Fence

The wonderful view from the Buckminster Fuller Dome at Vitra Campus: A fence

Last Friday we spent a highly enjoyable – and successful – day at and with Vitra.

Texts to follow.

We were just a little irritated by two demarcation issues.

Like an analogy for the anthropogenic absurdity that are national borders, Basel Airport sits in both France and Switzerland.

And has two passenger exits: One into France, one into Switzerland.

We left through the Swiss exit. Our driver was waiting in France. Between us in the terminal building a glass wall. Outside a fence.

What do we do? How do we solve this? Panic!

The answer is you go upstairs to the departures floor where you can freely move between France and Switzerland.
Once you know this the glass wall in the arrivals level is less a division between two countries and more a clever piece of cultural criticism.

Despite the amount of Vitra chairs in Basel Airport, Vitra are obviously not responsible for glass wall/fence.

The second demarcation that got our goat is however very much in Vitra’s  responsibility area.

The VitraHaus and Vitra Design Museum stand directly in front of the Vitra production facility in Weil am Rhein.

A production facility that is sensibly separated from the rest of the world by a fence.

The problem is, that behind this fence is the Buckminster Fuller Dome and Jean Prouvé’s petrol station.

We’d always been aware of this fence, and irritated by the fact that it made taking usable photos of the Dome and viewing the petrol station impossible.

But had never questioned it.

Until on Friday when we stood on the production facility side of the fence and realised that there is no physical reason not to move the fence so that it runs parallel to the road between production facilty and Dome/Petrol Station, turns right at the petrol station and then joins its original route behind the Dome.

Such a move would not impact on the safety of visitors who obviously need to be separated from the activity of the production site, and poses no extra security risk.

However, with such a simple move visitors to the VitraHaus/Vitra Design Museum have not only two additional interesting and important buildings to enjoy as and when they want, but also a lot more interesting photo opportunities.

We never thought we’d follow in the footsteps of Roland Reagan but: “Mr Fehlbaum, tear down this wall! Or at least move it a little bit. Please.”

The border fences at Basel Airport may be a monument to the noble art of diplomatic logic – those at the Vitra Campus can be moved.

Just an idea……

And we’ll be back on topic shortly

The Vitra Campus Wall. Those in West Vitra Campus enjoy modern homes, those in the East tents. Possibly.