Best Design Museums To Visit This Spring

It’s been a long wait, but finally we can return to museums around the world as they have reopened in the post-pandemic era. There is no better time than spring to visit museums and gardens. To help you out, we’ve put together a quick guide to some of the best design museums including one that is not officially a museum but is definitely worth a visit.

1. Vake Plaza A Business Center AND a Museum

Let us begin with a museum that isn’t actually a museum. Tbilisi, Georgia, has many museums, but none are dedicated to design. If you’re looking for iconic design furniture from the 20th and 21st centuries, the lobby of the newly opened business center may double as a museum. Thanks to the project’s investor, David Kezerashvili, and architect Levan Mushkudiani, this business center is not only stylish on the outside but also purposefully designed to create a relaxing atmosphere similar to that of a museum. To achieve that effect, the lobby features pieces by renowned designers and architects that have been displayed at some of the world’s largest museums in the United States and Europe.

Commenting on the uniqueness of the building, David Kezerashvili, says he wanted to offer more than a top modern business center, a multifunctional place that meets more than just the practical needs of modern businesses. David continues by saying he wanted Vake Plaza to be a unique space, with a unique feeling and atmosphere. The type of relaxed feeling you get when you visit a museum. “So we took help from the talented Interior Designer Khatuna Mikaberidze and started to think of interior design as creating a design museum.” As you enter the building, the display cases in the lobby with miniature furniture create the illusion of a museum.

Each space in the building is individually designed down to the smallest detail, giving the visitor the impression of moving between museum rooms to see the exhibition of displayed items in the lobby.

Location: Vake Plaza 72a Ilia Chavchavadze Avenue, Tbilisi, Georgia

2. Design Museum – Holon

Launched on 31st January 2010, the Design Museum in Holon is “a catalyst for transformation”. It holds design-critical exhibitions such as The Conversion Show, aiming to unite and engage designers in knowledge-sharing. The Pit, another key exhibition, changes how we perceive solutions to modern problems. The Pit unveils the discoveries of an early 19s garbage pit in Israel’s Mikveh landfill. The collection appreciates the timelessness of art and proves the relevance of older solutions to modern problems.

The Design Museum Holon captures Israel’s fashion and physical environment. The three-year design work portrays the arid life of Israel from different angles. From one view of its steel bands, you will notice a turban-like figure and archy sand waves from another. Ron Arad, the designer, also composed a nice blend of sand colors representing the land.

Holon’s Design Museum is a successful project that summarizes a nation’s multiple values. It is the perfect illustration of multi-purposing in design. Despite the aesthetic factor, the steel bands anchor the structure. They penetrate the inside and outsides of the building, showing one’s position inside the museum. They are intentionally made of steel to indicate the transformation around Israel’s growing urban areas. Unlike what you would expect from the archy exteriors, the inside has angular rooms.

Location: Design Museum Holon Pinkhas Eilon St 8, Holon, 5845400, Israel

3. The Pompidou Center

The Pompidou Center is one of the unique architectural works available today. The designers’ ability to incorporate technology, architecture, and design principles seamlessly into one structure is simply mind-blowing.

The Paris-centered building is one of the most prominent contemporary art reservations across Europe.

Its most outstanding work surrounds its adaptability to impromptu changes. As a technological center, the designers incorporated the idea of change by situating essential amenities such as elevators and corridors in the outdoors. The interior is made of six massive open floors that effortlessly metamorphose into anything.

On the front, a purposeful choice of colors accounts for the different components such as air conditioning and electricity. The material choices pay homage to a technological future, giving the building a transparent-like appearance.

Location: Pompidou Center Place Georges-Pompidou, 75004 Paris, France

4. The Maxxi National Museum

The Italian Maxxi Museum walks a fine line between complexity and simplicity. It is an enforcement of freedom in modern design. It is geared towards capturing the mind rather than satisfying conventional principles. The museum was designed by Zaha Hadid, one of the most decorated female architects.

The curvaceous interiors show the artist’s ability to break redundancy without losing purpose.

The blank exterior walls break the bustle in its urban positioning and reset the mind to welcome the interior fluidity.

The building is naturally lit, with filters defining the mood. The alignment of lighting, concrete beams, and the suspension of staircases set the beauty while providing navigation guidance.
The structure couldn’t complete its signature depiction of modern design without a large panoramic view of the city. A large window at the third level, with an incredible view, complements the structure with a flat-cut design overlapping on a lower compartment.

Location: MAXXI – National Museum of 21st Century Art Via Guido Reni, 4a, 00196 Roma RM, Italy

5. The Design Museum

London’s Design Museum is known for its variety of exhibitions cutting across sexuality, technology, and fashion matters. Terence Conran originally founded it in 1989 as a design gallery. Besides being one of the most renowned designers, Conran was also a restaurateur whose talents are evident in the hospitable design of the museum.

The museum houses various forms of art such as fashion, graphics, and furniture designs.

At first glance of the museum, you’ll be taken aback by the wall defining technological evolution with gadgetry such as phones, computers, cameras, and televisions.

The design of the building appreciates different themes of design, bringing closer the gap between different designer preferences.

The building is structured to prioritize interactions for the sharing of ideas. It draws focus to the people rather than abstract features to promote artistic conversations with its spacious and hospitable environs. With only a quarter of the display assigned to permanent features, it appreciates development and fosters innovation in the design industry.

Location: Design Museum 224-238 Kensington High St, London W8 6AG, UK

6. Vitra Design Museum

The Vitra Design Museum was founded after Vitra, a Swiss furniture company. The museum was launched in 1989 to store Rolf Fehlbaum’s private collection. Being one of the few design-specific museums, it quickly ascended the fame radar to become a world-renowned destination by 1990.

The museum gained popularity primarily due to its monograph covers from reputable artists such as Frank Lloyd.

The museum is a significant research stop-over for designers to learn from the mysterious artistry of its founder. Besides, it is one of the largest permanent exhibitions showcasing modern furniture culture. The Vitra Design Museum showcases the infinity of design possibilities through thousands of furniture and lighting accessories.

Despite the enduring museum culture influenced by the tide of time, interest in preserving design as an art is only growing after a significant emergence in the 20th century. With the advancement in construction technology, today’s designs will only diversify to inspire generations of progressive designers.

Location: Vitra Design Museum Charles-Eames-Straße 2, 79576 Weil am Rhein, Germany