The Musée de design et d’arts appliqués contemporains (Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts) in Lausanne, or mudac, is the only institution in western Switzerland devoted entirely to design.

© Etienne Malapert

Originally opened in 1967, mudac focused on contemporary Swiss and international design. In 1995, there was an exchange of buildings between the canton of Vaud and the city of Lausanne. Presently, after mudac relocated to its beautiful new building near the train station, the combination of Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Photo Elysée (Museum for Photography) and mudac together formed a new arts district called Plateforme10, with an area of 270,000 square feet in the heart of the city of Lausanne.

As of June 2022, all three venues have been united into the new Platforme10, providing residents and visitors with a unique urban arts destination within proximity to Lausanne’s main train station.

Flon de nuit © Didier Oberson – Mobimo

The newest building, mudac, designed by Portuguese architects Francisco and Manuel Aires, is characterized by its dual tenants, with mudac on the upper level and Photo Elysée on the lower level. Both are connected by reception and meeting spaces, with a total exhibition space of 16,000 square feet and lots of public areas, as well.

© Lausanne Tourisme Collector Publique

Because of its proximity to Gare de Lausanne, all three Plateform10 museums joined in a major exhibition called Train Zug Treno Tren, with the venues dedicating the show to the idea of train stations as places of reunion, departure and chance encounters. Through this exhibition, the museums bring together objects of design, contemporary art and moving images from advertising and music clips related to rail travel. Documents from the Swiss Rail archive are combined with works by Christian Boltanski, Salvador Dali, Sophie Calle, Marina Abramovic and Studio Jobs. The exhibition will through the end of September, followed by other Plateforme10 exhibitions and public events.