ProductsChairsOffice chairsLounge chairsDining tablesCafé tablesDesksOffice furniture systemsCoffee & side tablesSofasMicro architectureAccessoriesLightingLiving roomDining roomHome officeChildren's roomOutdoorFocusWorkspaceMeetingWorkshopAlexander Girard Antonio CitterioCharles & Ray Eames Barber OsgerbyGeorge NelsonIsamu NoguchiJasper MorrisonJean ProuvéKonstantin GrcicRonan & Erwan BouroullecVerner PantonCare & repairSpare partsCare productsManufacturer warrantyNewBestsellerQuickly availableGift finderOffice chair finderLounge chair finderColour & materialMikadoColour Frame MirrorsInspirations Inspirations for homesEames Shell ChairsJean Prouvé CollectionStandard Chair & Chaise Tout BoisAn open house Making a home by collecting memoriesHigh comfort of low energyFurniture as part of the familyThe Art of indoor greeneryLiving with EamesCollecting vintage furniture & artLiving & working in an urban oasisA new life for a gropius houseTheir ideal home in touch with natureMagazineStoriesConversationsExhibitionsDesignerProject VitraShaping the future of energyFrom a toy to an objectWhat would nature doWhy design classics remain relevant, even in the officeA studio visit with Tsuyoshi TaneThe Eames Collection at the Vitra Design MuseumMoments in architectureAbout the partnership between Eames and VitraThe Eames La ChaiseSaul SteinbergTane Garden HouseWhat would Charles and Ray say?The Maison Jean ProuvéDesign is a highly political professionPhilosophy of select and arrangeThe OriginalHistory of communal workspacesVitra CampusExhibitionsGuided tours & workshopsFood and drinkShoppingArchitectureEventsNewsPlan your visitVitra Campus appVitraHausVitra Design MuseumVitra SchaudepotVitra Circle Store CampusOudolf GartenAbout VitraSustainabilityJobs & CareersDesign processThe Original is by VitraHistory - Project VitraProfessionalsClub OfficeCitizen OfficeDynamic SpacesAirports HospitalityHealthcareDownloadsColour & materialpConPlanning examplesCertificatesCare & maintenanceOur ClientsOffice chairsDancing OfficeA case for classicsConsulting & Planning StudioTo the dealer loginPassenger Terminal Expo 2024MikadoTyde 2 on castorsACXOur ClientsJoyn 2Abalon
Fire Station
Zaha Hadid, 1993
After the major fire in 1981, Vitra decided it would be a good idea to have a fire brigade. Zaha Hadid was commissioned with designing a building for it. Knowing that its company fire brigade could only combat a fire in its initial stages and could not replace the public fire services, Vitra decided to disband its fire brigade a few years later. Since that time, the rooms have been used for events and exhibitions held by the Vitra Design Museum. Today, the Weil fire services are responsible for the Vitra Campus. Together with the Basel fire services, they assume the role of protecting the Vitra Campus.
The Fire Station is the very first building complex designed by Zaha Hadid. It consists of spaces for fire engines, showers and changing rooms for the firemen as well as a conference room and a kitchenette. The sculpture-like building was cast in concrete on site. Positioned alongside the angular features of the neighbouring production facilities, it has the effect of a frozen explosion. Its lack of colour and right angles provides visitors with an unusual spatial experience.
The Fire Station is the very first building complex designed by Zaha Hadid. It consists of spaces for fire engines, showers and changing rooms for the firemen as well as a conference room and a kitchenette. The sculpture-like building was cast in concrete on site. Positioned alongside the angular features of the neighbouring production facilities, it has the effect of a frozen explosion. Its lack of colour and right angles provides visitors with an unusual spatial experience.
Architecture tours
Our guides will take you around the Vitra Campus where you can learn exciting details about famous architects, designers, artists and their work here.
More details
About the architect
Zaha Hadid, born in 1950 in Baghdad, studied mathematics at the American University in Beirut and architecture at the Architectural Association in London. After completing her studies, she founded an architectural office in London in 1980 and assumed a teaching position at the Architectural Association School of Architecture. In 1982 she won the British Architectural Design Gold Medal for the renovation of a townhouse in Eaton Place, London, succeeded by a first place award for the Peak Club in Hong Kong. Her competition entry for a building on Kurfürstendamm in Berlin won another first prize in 1986, followed by exhibitions of her work at the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the GA Gallery in Tokyo. The Museum of Modern Art in New York included Hadid's work in a group exhibition with Philip Johnson and Mark Wigley under the title 'Deconstructivist Architecture' in 1988. In 2004 she received the Pritzker Prize. Other honours include the Republic of France's Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, England's Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and Japan's Praemium Imperiale, as well as the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects. Zaha Hadid passed away in 2016.