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Sabine Marcelis, Workshop "Exploring Light", Domaine de Boisbuchet, 2017 Photo: Micho Romero © CIRECA / Domaine de Boisbuchet

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Domaine de Boisbuchet as Guest at “Farben Der Architektur”

14 September 2025

What colour is architecture, and what does it reveal about place, material, and time? Until 15 March 2026, the Gewerbemuseum Winterthur presents the exhibition “Farben der Architektur. Domaine de Boisbuchet as Guest”, making visible how shades and tones shape cities, provide orientation, and create atmospheres.

Regional stones and pigments from south-west France illustrate how materials influence the colour palette of architecture. Beyond this, the exhibition opens up perspectives on international architectural concepts of the 1920s and 1930s, as well as on contemporary approaches. It features around 45 objects, over 90 photographs, and publications from the Domaine de Boisbuchet archive.

Construction of the "Paper Pavilion", Domaine de Boisbuchet, 2001, designed by Shigeru Ban© CIRECA / Domaine de Boisbuchet

Colour as Orientation and Atmosphere

The exhibition demonstrates how colour functions as a practical, social, and aesthetic dimension. It signals use, structures complex environments, and affects our sense of well-being. The thematic stations range from early encounters with colour – such as the cave paintings of Lascaux – through modernism, with figures like Le Corbusier and Alvar Aalto, to contemporary approaches.

Founded 35 years ago by Alexander von Vegesack, Domaine de Boisbuchet unites a collection, library, and international workshop programmes. It experiments with design, architecture, and art in dialogue with local craft traditions. For Winterthur, Domaine de Boisbuchet brings outcomes from workshops and residencies, as well as loans and archival material.