Ten conceptual showrooms for the home of the future are presented in this exhibition at temporary arts venue Depot Basel in Switzerland.
Above: Ohne Titel by Meret Probst
Depot Basel invited the designers to come up with a contemporary 'Musterzimmer' – which means showroom – reflecting the holistic principles of the Swiss Werkbund, a design collective founded in the 1920s to build connections between traditional crafts and industrial production.
Above: Past Present Future by Giorgia Zanellato and Mauro Tittoto
The Musterzimmer is "a vision of a future living space, including furnishing, which, apart from the essential elements of material, construction, form and function, also addresses current issues," explains Depot Basel co-founder Matylda Krzykowski.
Above: Halbraum by Katia Ritz and Florian Hauswirth
"In the past, economic crises, acute housing shortages or social or political upheavals led to the design of so-called Musterzimmers," adds Krzykowski, giving the example of the Frankfurt Kitchen, a standardised kitchen installed in over 10,000 Frankfurt apartments in the early twentieth century and inspired by production-line ideals from contemporary American culture that valued efficiency, standardisation and mechanisation.
Above: Die Chance des Design in einer digitalisierten Welt by Nicola Staeubli
Depot Basel opened last year to host exhibitions, workshops, talks and films. The project was initiated by the Association For Demanding Everyday Culture.
Above: Musterzimmer oder Materials we love by Daniel Wehrli
Other events at Depot Basel we've featured on Dezeen include the inaugural exhibition, in which designers were asked to engage with the building's physical presence, and a collection of furniture made out of bricks.
Above: Fitting Room by Karin Hueber and David Schaeublin
See all our stories about Depot Basel »
Above: Ohne Titel by Laetitia Florin
Photographs are by Flurin Bertschinger.
Above: Aktives Wohnen wohnliches Arbeiten im Jahr 2010 by Postfossil
Here's more information from Depot Basel:
Musterzimmer
What does the future Musterzimmer look like? According to the integral principles of the Swiss Werkbund in the 1920s, Swiss designers show their vision of the essential elements in respect to material, construction, form and function.
Above: Ohne Titel by Stéphanie Baechler
With: Daniel Wehrli; Stéphanie Baechler; Katia Ritz & Florian Hauswirth; Nicola Stäubli; Giorgia Zanellato & Mauro Tittoto; Meret Probst; Sibylle Stoeckli; David Schäublin & Karin Hueber; Postfossil; Laetitia Florin