Corina Zuberbühler
Where at the ZHdK can you be found?
I like the library, compared to the lively corridors and halls it’s incredibly quiet there. Whenever I need to get something done or think about something in a short space of time and without distraction, I sit in one of the large wing chairs with a view of the Uetliberg and my laptop or a piece of paper, and afterwards, I take a quick look at the new publications displayed on the shelves.
What is your dream?
I dream of carefree encounters with people (lots of people!) without a mask and social distancing.
With whom would you like to switch roles for half a year?
When I chose to study Industrial Design, working in a model-making workshop was an important part of that. In my current role, I often sit in meetings or in front of a screen, dealing with various strategic or planning-related matters of design and design education. This is all interesting, but in the evening, I often can’t see what I have actually achieved during the day. When switching roles, I would like to do something less static for a change and use my hands beyond operating a mouse or a keyboard. I would really enjoy seeing the physical results of my work at the end of a working day. Therefore my favourite role swap would be with a florist, a gardener or a forest ranger. I’d also like to have a try at being a hairdresser, a chef or a pastry cook for a while.
What would you say has been the most exciting moment in your career?
Just a few years after I graduated, I was given the opportunity to set up a subsidiary of a Swiss design agency in Taipei. Immersing myself in a new culture as part of my role there was a brilliant experience! The commissions were much more varied than what I’d been used to in Switzerland. Taiwan still produces an incredible number of products, in very different industry sectors: from sewing machines, bicycle saddles, LED lights and rucksacks to medical technology and entertainment electronics – you name it, and every assignment meant delving into a completely new area.
What is your favourite design object?
On the one hand, I like it when design is perfectly integrated into everyday items that do not, however, lay any claim on being design objects. So I can, for instance, appreciate the concertina drying rack by Manufactum just as much as my bottle by Sigg. On the other hand, the objects I particularly like are often closely connected to a special memory of places, people or experiences.
