Museum für Gestaltung

About the museum

The museum traces its origins to the 1875 School of Applied Arts of the City of Zurich; three years later, the applied arts school was added, from which today's Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) emerged. In 1933, the museum and school moved to the building on Ausstellungsstrasse, designed by Adolf Steger and Karl Egender. It remained the main site and was comprehensively renovated until 2018.

Additional locations were added gradually: in 1968 the Museum Bellerive on Lake Zurich, which returned to the city in 2017; in 2014, a second site at the Toni-Areal in Zurich-West, the ZHdK campus (EM2N architects); and in 2019, the Pavilion Le Corbusier at Zurichhorn, which the museum has operated since then. The museum is now part of Zurich University of the Arts.

The collection comprises over half a million objects and is considered Switzerland's largest design culture collection. The poster collection is particularly significant, with approximately 380,000 sheets, as are the graphics collection, the 20th-century design collection, and the applied arts collection. The museum presents seven to nine new exhibitions annually on design topics from all fields; at the Toni-Areal, the permanent exhibition Swiss Design Collection presents approximately 2,500 objects.

Highlights

• Switzerland's largest design collection with over 580,000 objects
• Swiss Design Collection at the Toni-Areal (approximately 2,500 objects)
• Poster collection with approximately 380,000 sheets
• Swiss Design Lounge with classics of Swiss furniture design (admission free)
• Main building by Steger and Egender (1933) with sunken garden
• Operator of Pavilion Le Corbusier

Permanent exhibitions

• Swiss Design Collection – Permanent exhibition at the Toni-Areal with approximately 2,500 objects from graphics, typography, poster, textile, product design, and applied arts, as well as an accessible archive and studio for self-design.
• Swiss Design Lounge – Open space on Ausstellungsstrasse with re-editions of classic Swiss furniture and current designs to try; admission free.
• 150 Jahre Ausstellungsplakate – 48 posters from the museum's history show 150 years of visual communication for the institution.

Founded

1875

Operated by

Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK)

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Free admission for all every Thursday from 5 p.m.

Free admission includes Swiss Museum Pass (including Raiffeisen), Swiss Travel Pass, Zurich Card, ICOM, KulturLegi, friends circle members, members of ZFH universities, and asylum seekers. No online tickets; tickets available on-site in the shop. Swiss Design Lounge is free to enter.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description

All areas are wheelchair accessible (at Ausstellungsstrasse, one area is only accessible with personal assistance). Wheelchair parking in front of entrance at Ausstellungsstrasse, two wheelchair parking spaces in Parking Toni-Areal (level 2). Wheelchair-accessible restrooms, hand wheelchair and folding stool on request. Induction loop in lecture hall (Ausstellungsstrasse), guided tours and openings with Swiss German sign language interpretation, hands-on tours for people with and without visual impairments, texts in easy language, audio descriptions of buildings. Companions have free admission. Information: manuela.moor@zhdk.ch, +41 43 446 67 35.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities
• Kids’ birthday parties

Children and young people under 20 have free admission. Workshops, open studio every Sunday (drop-in, 2–4:30 p.m.), birthday studio, project weeks, holiday courses, and information stations in many exhibitions; in the Swiss Design Lounge there are games and painting supplies. Change tables at Ausstellungsstrasse and Toni-Areal, strollers permitted; children under 12 must be accompanied.

Getting there & parking

Bicycle parking spaces in front of the museum on Ausstellungsstrasse and around the Toni-Areal.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers

Museum café at Ausstellungsstrasse (vegetarian and vegan, lunch menu Tue–Fri 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m., sunken garden by the pond); various dining options at the Toni-Areal campus. Museum shop with design souvenirs, lockers without small change in the cloakroom.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

Available for rent at Ausstellungsstrasse: lecture hall, vestibule, foyer, sunken garden, and canopy; rooms at Toni-Areal through ZHdK; Pavilion Le Corbusier in season outside opening hours for up to 100 people. Inquiries at events@museum-gestaltung.ch.

Plan your visit