Musée de design et d'arts appliqués contemporains, Design and contemporary art museum in Lausanne, Switzerland
MUDAC is a museum of contemporary design and applied arts in Lausanne, Switzerland. It occupies a modern white concrete building with glass facades, designed by architects Francisco and Manuel Aires Mateus at Plateforme 10.
The museum descends from the Musée Industriel, inaugurated on 1 March 1862 in a purpose-built building on rue Chaucrau, funded by Catherine de Rumine; its first collection of over 2000 objects was divided into mineral, vegetable, animal and graphic arts sections. In 1905 the decorative arts pieces moved to the Palais de Rumine, opened there as the Musée d'art industriel on 12 September 1909. Renamed Musée d'art décoratif in 1952, it settled in June 2022 in the Plateforme 10 building shared with Photo Elysée.
The museum displays contemporary designs, glass art, modern jewelry, ceramics, and graphic works that reflect current artistic movements. Visitors encounter the breadth of today's creative practice across these fields.
The museum is located near Lausanne train station and offers temporary exhibitions and artistic events. Guided tours are available for different visitor groups, making the collections more accessible.
The museum's collection began with over 2,000 objects donated by its founders and private donors, divided into mineral, vegetable, animal and graphic arts sections. The first museum of its kind in Switzerland, it may have been inspired by London's South Kensington Museum and Florence's Imperiale e Regio Istituto Tecnico.
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