Shower rooms, design classics, table rituals: 5 exhibitions you must see at the Zurich Design Weeks 2026
From September 17th to 27th, Zurich will once again transform into a design stage. Under the theme "Out Of...", the Zurich Design Weeks will showcase the potential hidden in things that are supposedly out of place. I have picked out five exhibitions that are exciting for your living room, your dining table, and your interior design sense.
For the fifth time, the Zurich Design Weeks (ZDW) invite you to discover Zurich as a stage for design. The annual theme "Out Of..." fits perfectly with what interests me most about good design: objects, materials, and spaces that are torn from their familiar context and rethought. This is precisely what is reflected in these five program highlights.
1. Dislocated Utility_Objects out of Place: Design in the old SBB shower
In the historic shower rooms of the former SBB workshops, Natascha Madeiski and Paulina Reséndiz are curating a site-specific group exhibition that brings together design, art, and craftsmanship. Last year, Paulina's exhibition featuring pieces by Basalto Collective was already one of my highlights at the ZDW. This time, existing works as well as new, site-specific interventions by over 20 international creative minds will be presented, including Arché Studio, Hanya Leo, and Dimitri Bähler Studio.
The objects enter into a direct dialogue with the visible traces of the location: pipes, tiles, wear and tear. Anyone who wants to understand how strongly the exhibition space itself can become part of the work should stop by here.
2. Hay opens the showroom: Talk with the Head of Design and AW2026 novelties
On Tuesday, September 22, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., the Danish brand Hay will provide insight into product development in its Zurich showroom. Rui Pereira, Head of Design and Visual Direction at Hay, will be on-site and in conversation. In addition, the novelties of the AW2026 collection will be on display, including collaborations with Jasper Morrison, Philippe Malouin, and Andreas Bergsaker.
For everyone who loves Hay pieces like the "Color Crates" or is interested in them, this is the opportunity to learn about the creation process behind the furniture firsthand.
3. Robert Wettstein: Design emerges from abundance
Following his exhibition "In Good Company" last year, Robert Wettstein is gathering new works made from found, gifted, or rediscovered materials in his Zurich studio under the title "Plenty". Unique individual pieces and selected prototypes are thus created as sculptural design.
Behind this is the attitude "Out of Plenty": What deserves a second life, what deserves transformation? Particularly exciting: The refurbished Saffa chair by Erika Schläpfer-Thöne from 1958, a design-historical find, is on public display for the first time. Outside of opening hours, the exhibition can also simply be admired through the shop window.
4. V-Zug: When the dining table becomes a kitchen
In the V-Zug Studio Zurich, the boundary between cooking and eating blurs. The kitchen and dining area become a single piece of furniture, underneath which the "Integra" induction hob is hidden, invisible under a continuous mineral surface.
You are invited to play along, drink along, fold along, and find out what your table ritual is.
5. Neue Räume: the furniture fair to get a taste of
For those who haven't had enough after the exhibitions: From September 24 to 27, the "Neue Räume" fair will take place for the 13th time in Hall 550 in Zurich-Oerlikon. Over 90 national and international furniture brands such as Lamaro will present current and upcoming living trends on around 7,000 square meters. The fair is considered one of the most important meeting points for the Swiss furniture scene.
Whether it's a decommissioned shower, a Danish showroom, or a dining table with a dual function: The Zurich Design Weeks 2026 show how much movement there is currently in Swiss and international furniture design. And that's just a small sample: Over 30 other exhibitions, showrooms, and workshops await you during the eleven festival days. The complete program is available at designweeks.ch.
Like a cheerleader, I celebrate good design and bring you closer to everything furniture- and interior design-related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior finds, track down trends and interview creative minds about their work.
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