2020.11.18
The WBSC project started from a formal and sensorial challenge to encapsulate the history of this sport and its inclination for the future in a single tangible architectural gesture. The new headquarters is located inside a historical building on General Guisan Avenue overlooking Lake Geneva in Lausanne.
The WBSC project started from a formal and sensorial challenge to encapsulate the history of this sport and its inclination for the future in a single tangible architectural gesture. The new headquarters is located inside a historical building on General Guisan Avenue overlooking Lake Geneva in Lausanne.
The interior is designed to create a space of calm and serene beauty displaying a new, tangible perception of Baseball and Softball. The interior spaces, defined by contemporary environments, harmoniously feature iconic pieces from the Molteni&C, Dada and UniFor collections (both fixed and custom made).
The Molteni&C collection includes: the D.154.2 armchairs by Gio Ponti, the Gregor sofa by Vincent Van Duysen, the AVA bookcase by Foster+Partners, the Filigree table by Rodolfo Dordoni, the Codex table and Glove chairs by Patricia Urquiola and the Prime kitchen by Dada. The dedicated search for historical references through the careful selection of Vitra icons completes the formal and sensorial synthesis of the project’s common thread, Baseball. The celebration of tradition and envisionment of the future are sublimated in the choice of precise cultural references which are always elegantly and discreetly disclosed by architect Enrico Muscioni. It’s no coincidence if the historic Lounge Chairs by Charles and Ray Eames are situated at the entrance. Designed in the 1950s with the desire to create a generously proportioned seat, it combines the use of high quality materials and excellent manufacturing with the comfort and enveloping sensation of a ball in a baseball glove. The reference to sport as a protagonist is repeated with another great classic by Charles and Ray Eames, the Aluminium Group chairs that surround the meeting table are in fact made in a custom finish, with red stitching, a clear reference to the balls used in Baseball and Softball. Alongside these two iconic pieces are numerous other classic and contemporary Vitra items, such as the Alcove Sofa, Joyn, Panton Chair Classic, Physix and the Work system. Vitra is distributed in Italy by the Molteni Group. The furnishings are completed by UniFor systems such as: the Cases System and Less Less tables by Jean Nouvel, the CF and Wingspan bookcase by Dante Bonuccelli, the Naos System by Studio Cerri e Associati.
For this new project UniFor also created some custom-designed pieces.
