mudac – Musée cantonal de design et d’arts appliqués contemporains
Vaud cantonal museum of design and applied arts on Plateforme 10, with Europe's largest collection of contemporary glass art.
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About the museum
The museum goes back to the Musée des arts décoratifs, which from 1967 was housed on Avenue de Villamont in Lausanne. From 2000 to 2021 it was located on Place de la Cathédrale, and today it goes by the short name mudac.
Today the mudac is located in the Plateforme 10 arts district near Lausanne station. It shares the building, designed by the Portuguese architects Manuel and Francisco Aires Mateus, with the photography museum Photo Élysée; together with the MCBA, the three institutions form the cantonal museums of Plateforme 10. It opened in June 2022.
The collection has two focuses. The design collection numbers over 920 objects from furniture and lighting design, fashion, tableware, textiles and high-tech products, with an emphasis on designers from French-speaking Switzerland; it is to be expanded into an archive of Romandie design. The collection of contemporary glass art is considered the largest in Europe: it contains almost 700 works by international artists from 1950 to the present. They are shown in exhibitions that address design in the broadest sense, from product design to urban planning.
Highlights
- Europe's largest collection of contemporary glass art with almost 700 works
- Design collection with over 920 objects and a focus on French-speaking Switzerland
- Building by the architects Aires Mateus, shared with Photo Élysée
- Exhibitions on design from products to urbanism
- Free admission on the first Saturday of the month
- Founded
- 1967
- Operated by
- Fondation Plateforme 10 (Kanton Waadt)
- Director
- Marco Costantini
Admission & discounts
| Adults | CHF 15 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | CHF 12AHV (old-age pension) recipients, IV (disability insurance) recipients, unemployed people, students and apprentices aged 26 and over, and groups of 10 or more |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 25 · Everyone under 26 has free admission. |
| Seniors | CHF 12AHV recipients. |
| Visitors with disabilities | CHF 12companion free · IV recipients; companions of people with disabilities have free admission. |
| Students & apprentices | CHF 12Students and apprentices aged 26 and over; free for those under 26. |
| Groups (10+ people) | CHF 12 per personGroups of 10 or more, price per person. |
| Plateforme 10 ticket (mudac, Photo Élysée, MCBA), valid for 3 months | CHF 25One admission to each of the three museums; reduced CHF 19, duo CHF 38, groups of 10 or more CHF 19 per person. |
Free admission: Every first Saturday of the month (all exhibitions).
Holders of the ICOM card, the CarteCulture and the Raiffeisen card, members of the Association of Swiss Museums (AMS) and friends of the museum also have free admission upon proof. Admission covers the exhibitions.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible
- Elevator
- Accessible restroom
- Accessible parking
- Service dogs welcome
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
The entire building is accessible to people with reduced mobility, with adapted toilets on every floor. Folding stools in the exhibition rooms, free wheelchairs at reception, induction loop. Two disabled parking spaces at the end of the access road via Avenue Louis-Ruchonnet. The route from the station (400 m) is uphill, the steps are poorly marked, and the lift is preferable.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 25 |
|---|
- Family tours & workshops
- Stroller-friendly
- Baby changing facilities
Family tours for children aged 6 and over with an accompanying adult, creative workshops "Les minus au musée" for 3- to 5-year-olds, and visits for young parents with newborns on Monday mornings. Strollers are allowed, though access may be restricted at very busy times; changing table and children's toilets on the ground floor.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Lausanne, gare · 400 m
Bus 3, 20, 21 and 60 to Lausanne, gare; bus 6 to Cécil; Metro M2 to Lausanne, gare.
By car
Parking de Montbenon, about a 5-minute walk; with the Plateforme 10 ticket there is a discount on the parking fee. Drop-off and pick-up in front of the entrance is possible, but not parking.
- Accessible parking
The museum is about 400 m from Lausanne station.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Café
- Restaurant
- Museum shop
- Coat check
- Lockers
- Wi-Fi
Café Lumen in the building (closed Tuesday, otherwise 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday until 8 p.m.) and the restaurant Le Nabi in the MCBA. Shared bookshop with Photo Élysée. Free cloakroom and lockers (luggage up to 55 × 35 × 20 cm), tokens at reception. Hearing protection ("PAMIR" headphones) and earplugs to borrow.
Events & venue rental
- Spaces for rent
Rooms at Plateforme 10 can be rented, including the foyer and the auditorium of mudac and Photo Élysée.
Inquiries & detailsPlan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Photography | Permitted for private use without flash or additional lighting; the copyright of the works on display remains in force. |
| Good to know | Free public guided tours are offered regularly; private tours and workshops on request. Animals are not permitted, with the exception of guide dogs; in the exhibitions, only pencils may be used for writing and drawing. |
