Hannes Wettstein

Severe and perfect, Switzerland is a wonderful place to escape from. Hannes Wettstein knows this well, living there and travelling elsewhere with his designs. Born in 1958, Wettstein is one of the most interesting designers of his generation, a fact witnessed by the many prizes and competitions he has won, including the 2004 Compasso d'Oro for the Nomis kitchen designed for Dada. His success is in large part due to his curiosity regarding materials and all forms of creativity. From products to communication, from industrial design to architecture. Furniture, watches, lights. Long live the product seems to be his motto. He has worked for the Grand Hyatt hotel chain in Berlin, he designed the Swiss Embassies in Teheran and Washington DC, he has worked in partnership with international design companies: Cassina, UMS Pastoe, Shimano, Baleri Italia, Artemide and the Molteni Group. He started out working freelance, and then became a partner of the Eclat Design Agency. In 1993 he co-founded 9D Design. But it is with his own studio, an interdisciplinary laboratory Zed, that Wettstein really develops his all-round ability as a designer and architect, taking care of company images and creating architectural designs.