Explore ‘The Colours Of Architecture’ Exhibit In Switzerland

Jaime Hayón, Sabine Marcelis, Guillermo Santomá. They are among the luminaries who have been invited over the years to host workshops at Domaine de Boisbuchet, the architecture and design research center on 370 acres in southwest France begun in 1986 by Alexander von Vegesack, cofounding director of the Vitra Design Museum. Large-scale photographs of the installations that resulted from those workshops are now on show in “The Colours of Architecture,” at the Gewerbemuseum Winterthur in Switzerland, an expanded iteration of the exhibition that first appeared at the Domaine last year. They’re among the 90 images, 50 objects, and three videos that have been organized into eight sections, all underscoring the expressive role color has in the built environment, from prehistoric cave paintings to iconic 1950’s furniture to a 21st-century parking garage. The exhibit is particularly relevant, since, in times of upheaval, concepts and trends are in flux, influencing perception, atmosphere, and meaning, and reflects the shared interest between the two institutions in social and ecological issues, materials science, and the changing demands placed on designers over time.