Water Garden
Bas Smets, 2026
In June 2026, a new project opened on the Vitra Campus to coincide with Art Basel: the Water Garden by landscape architect Bas Smets. The Water Garden forms part of a multi-year collaboration with Smets aimed at making the Vitra Campus more climate-resilient. Situated in front of Frank Gehry’s Vitra Design Museum, it enters into a compelling dialogue with the building’s dynamic architecture, creating new spaces for visitors to linger and stroll. Three large-scale sculptures by designer Hella Jongerius will be installed as a fountain within the Water Garden.
“While the development of the Vitra Campus initially came at the expense of the natural environment, the area has been reimagined in recent years with a new respect for the biosphere. Various gardens, a Miyawaki forest, the reduction in paved surfaces and the new Water Garden are defining hallmarks of this transformation. This pond landscape located in front of the Vitra Design Museum promotes biodiversity and improves the microclimate on the Vitra Campus.”
How can a site with an industrial character be sustainably designed for a global cultural audience and adapted to climate change? How can landscape design further intensify the spatial interplay between the iconic buildings while adding a new layer to the Vitra Campus? These questions provided the basis for the collaboration between Vitra and Bas Smets, which began in 2022. One of the leading landscape architects of our time, Smets is known for his far-reaching, ecologically driven projects, such as the re-vegetation of the public space around Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. For the Vitra Campus, Smets developed a masterplan that views the campus as a “living organism” – a habitat for people, animals and plants that adapts to changing climatic conditions.
“The Vitra Campus was originally conceived as a place for the production of objects. It consisted mainly of large buildings surrounded by infrastructure. The architecture was exceptional, but the landscape was missing. The landscape masterplan is gradually transforming the site into a living organism through the introduction of trees, water and plants.“
Over the coming years, sealed surfaces will be gradually renaturalised, green spaces expanded, plants introduced and heat islands eliminated to create a cooling microclimate. Such measures are as relevant for the working environment on the campus as for the visitors attending the more than 3000 guided tours held there each year.
The opening of the Oudolf Garten in 2020 marked the start of a more ecological design strategy for the Vitra Campus. In 2024, the implementation of Bas Smets’s concept began with the planting of 8000 young trees to establish “micro-forests” based on the principles of Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki.
The opening of the Oudolf Garten in 2020 marked the start of a more ecological design strategy for the Vitra Campus. In 2024, the implementation of Bas Smets’s concept began with the planting of 8000 young trees to establish “micro-forests” based on the principles of Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki.
“We have planted 8000 young trees and will add many more in the near future. A large pond was excavated and bordered with aquatic vegetation. The soil removed during construction was used to create a planted berm, shielding the site from the adjacent road. Together, these interventions will create a cooling microclimate, making the site more resilient to the challenges of climate change.”
The Water Garden in front of the Vitra Design Museum now represents the next stage in this concept. It consists of a large pond edged with numerous trees and aquatic vegetation, with particular emphasis on biodiversity and climate resilience. The body of water and its plants will attract birds and support a population of fish, bringing new forms of life to the campus. The excavated soil has been used to create a berm shielding the garden from the busy road. The organically shaped water feature fits within the original path by Tadao Ando, and engages with Gehry’s museum architecture, whose “dancing” volumes are reflected on the pond’s surface. The Water Garden is supplied with rain collected from the roof of an adjacent factory building.
Three large ceramic sculptures by designer Hella Jongerius provide a distinctive highlight. These depict expressive shark heads that form a fountain in the Water Garden.
In an aestheticised setting such as the Vitra Campus, these qualities acquire a different resonance, prompting reflection and a knowing smile. The sculptures are part of the current exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum, which is dedicated to Hella Jongerius’s complete works, and will remain in the Water Garden as a permanent installation after the exhibition closes.
A bench by the Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi and a small prefabricated house by architect and designer Jean Prouvé – an original Maison Démontable 4x4 – are also positioned along the path surrounding the pond. They complement the sculpture “Balancing Tools” by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, installed in 1987, and transform the area in front of the Vitra Design Museum into a sequence of diverse design perspectives that continues within the museum itself.
Three large ceramic sculptures by designer Hella Jongerius provide a distinctive highlight. These depict expressive shark heads that form a fountain in the Water Garden.
In an aestheticised setting such as the Vitra Campus, these qualities acquire a different resonance, prompting reflection and a knowing smile. The sculptures are part of the current exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum, which is dedicated to Hella Jongerius’s complete works, and will remain in the Water Garden as a permanent installation after the exhibition closes.
A bench by the Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi and a small prefabricated house by architect and designer Jean Prouvé – an original Maison Démontable 4x4 – are also positioned along the path surrounding the pond. They complement the sculpture “Balancing Tools” by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, installed in 1987, and transform the area in front of the Vitra Design Museum into a sequence of diverse design perspectives that continues within the museum itself.
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