Together with the Consulate General of Switzerland in Hong Kong, an HKDC-led delegation comprising our strategic partners, completed a five-day study trip to Switzerland in March. The trip aimed to strengthen cross-disciplinary exchange and deepen Switzerland–Hong Kong ties ahead of BODW 2026 and the ensuing year-long partnership. Across Switzerland’s four innovation hubs—Zurich, Basel, Lausanne, and Geneva—the delegation explored a design ecosystem spanning architecture and urbanism, industrial and product design, communication design, social and longevity innovation, and design and hospitality education. They saw first-hand how a culture of craft, research depth, and industrial excellence is guided by a philosophy of precision, purpose, and innovation. 

 

More than 20 organisations opened their doors for meetings and site visits, including design studios and creative practices such as Atelier Oï, BIG-GAME, Herzog & de Meuron, Manuel Herz Architects, and Raffinerie; companies and brands such as Audemars Piguet, FREITAG, Novartis, Vacheron Constantin, and V-ZUG; and education and research leaders such as the École cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL), EHL Education Group, Gramazio Kohler Research (ETH Zurich), Swiss Center for Design and Health, and Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). Public-sector support was equally visible through Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council. The itinerary also extended briefly beyond Switzerland to the Vitra Design Museum. 

 

Taken together, these encounters revealed a coherent national mindset—design as an integrated system linking academia, industry, and policy, with clarity, functionality, and sustainability as non-negotiables. The exchanges also yielded practical insights for Hong Kong’s design community and clarified collaboration areas, including a curated pipeline of potential BODW 2026 speakers and partners. 

 

As preparations move forward for BODW 2026, these insights from the Switzerland study trip will continue to shape conversations on how design can create long-term value for society. The BODW 2026 Summit returns this 18–20 November, bringing Swiss creative energy and design expertise to this year’s programme. Together, we will connect global design and business leaders in the transformation of creativity into innovation, and share more stories on bodw+ featuring Swiss design and innovation pioneers, as well as leading brands. 

 

Carolien Niebling — a designer-researcher using food as her design medium to create tangible prototypes that connect gastronomy, sustainability, and industry. She is best known for The Sausage of the Future. Which Hong Kong classic would you like to see her reimagine? 

 

Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich — pioneers of robotic fabrication and computational design; delegates saw live processes and prototypes that reconnect emerging tech with architectural intent and construction culture. 

 

Raffinerie — a communications studio blending typographic clarity with human warmth; the brand and editorial specialists behind Swissair and On, revitalisations such as Lenz & Staehelin, and bold identities for Theater Basel. 

 

V-ZUG — Switzerland’s leader in premium home appliances; delegates visited the Diener & Diener–designed factory to see inhouse manufacturing, where design and engineering meet on a pillarless sawtooth roof lit by daylight and powered by photovoltaics. 

 

E2A Architects — led by Piet and Wim Eckert. From Zurich to Berlin and Warsaw, the studio delivers highrises negotiated through public benefits and competitions defined by embodied carbon goals—showcasing standout highrise knowhow. 

 

AATB — the art–design–robotics studio staging human–robot interaction with kinetic installations and performance. Recent ventures Superposition and Kinematics extend the work into film motion control and robotic retail. 

 

FREITAG — Switzerland’s circular design pioneer. The brand upcycles used truck tarps, seat belts, and bicycle inner tubes into rugged bags and accessories, advancing circularity through repair, resale, and mono‑material FABRIC textiles. During our visit to the Zurich production site, delegates saw eco‑efficient machinery in action. 

 

Herzog & de Meuron — the Basel based global studio behind Hong Kong’s M+ and Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage & Arts. Our visit to their new headquarters underscored a breadth beyond culture—adaptive reuse, commercial/retail, interiors, product design, sustainability, and crosstypology thinking. Upcoming 2026 highlights include the HKJC Conghua Racecourse Grandstand, Hangzhou’s Grand Canal Museum Complex, and The Hyundai Gwangju. 

 

Manuel Herz Architects — a research-driven practice where bold geometry meets social engagement. From the Mainz Jewish Community Center and African Modernism to the popup Babyn Yar Synagogue, the studio now explores ultralight, modular thinking with the Swiss Pavilion concept for Expo 2025 Osaka. 

 

Novartis Campus — a research and innovation district in north Basel master-planned by Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani, with landmark buildings by Herzog & de Meuron, SANAA, Frank Gehry, and more in a parklike setting that fosters collaboration and wellbeing; our private tour traced its transformation from industrial grounds to an open, contemporary campus.

 

Atelier Oï — a La Neuveville studio working from a former motel turned atelier, practicing a “Story Texture” approach that builds narratives through materials, structure, light, and spatial sequences; spanning product, scenography, architecture, and interiors for luxury maisons and NGO/community projects with lifecycle thinking. Congratulations on receiving the Swiss Grand Award for Design 2026.

 

Swiss Center for Design and Health (SCDH) — Switzerland’s national hub where design, healthcare, academia, and industry meet to turn evidence into impact. Through realworld testbeds spanning visual communication, the built environment, and service design, SCDH delivers human-centred improvements to services, spaces, and technologies. 

 

BIG-GAME — featured in Phaidon’s “Designed for Life: The World’s Best Product Designers”; the Swiss studio famed for fun, functional, cross-sector design—from furniture and watches to electronics and tableware

 

EHL Education Group — the global benchmark in hospitality management. Rooted in the world’s oldest hospitality school in Lausanne (founded 1893), the Group blends Swiss excellence with applied research and industry practice. Our campus tour and lunch with Associate Dean Dr. Cédric Poretti showed how hospitality becomes a culture of human experience excellence. 

 

Office for Typography — a type-driven studio crafting clear, adaptable identity, editorial, and information systems across print and digital—from custom lettering and signage to multilingual publications. During our visit, co-founder Chi-Long Trieu unpacked three signature typefaces and how they scale across products and brands. 

 

Panter&Tourron — a Lausanne studio led by Alexis Tourron and Simon Kaempfer, focused on material research and ultralight systems; work spans Vitra, Balenciaga, New Works and AIAIAI. Their Hermès window installations across Switzerland are set to be unveiled.

 

EPFL+ECAL Lab — Located at ECAL, the lab fuses EPFL’s engineering rigour with ECAL’s design craft, turning emerging tech into people-centred health and wellbeing tools. 

 

Audemars Piguet — celebrating 150 years in 2025, the maison welcomed delegates to the BIG-designed Musée Atelier for a close look at heritage, live craft, and AP Contemporary’s commissions. 

 

Vacheron Constantin — the storied Swiss watch manufacture that celebrated its 270th anniversary in 2025. Delegates gained rare access to the manufacture and a close look at La Quête du Temps, a monumental astronomical clock that epitomises high complication watchmaking and mechanical artistry. 

 

RETINAA — the designer duo behind Switzerland’s celebrated passport, often hailed as the world’s most beautiful. They fuse communication and security across passports, banknotes, and cartography, with recent work tackling deepfake and synthetic-media threats.