The canton's major institutions and the city's most prestigious country houses alternate along Rheinstrasse. Rheinstrasse resembles a parkway, as it leads through a park-like setting with lush trees, in which only the heads of the venerable buildings are visible. This impression must be preserved by orientating the new buildings by the existing buildings in terms of scale, size and height. After all, the park is the protagonist here, not the buildings, and it should stay that way. This is why the new administration building is divided into four volumes that form an articulated chain. Sometimes the buildings stand out confidently between the trees, sometimes they remain behind them. The group of buildings intertwines with the groups of trees surrounding the Villa Scholer. Like this, the imposing scale of the building project remains concealed.
The position of the buildings in relation to each other appears informal, even random, and yet has nothing accidental about it, as it is determined by the position of the trees, the neighbouring houses and the open lines of sight in the surrounding park. To anchor the buildings even more firmly in their location, the corners of each building are strongly emphasised as monumental, sturdy structures made of stacked stone. Light, net-like window surfaces made of glass, steel and fabric are stretched between these pillars.
Administrations serve the public, which distinguishes them from office buildings for companies. This makes it all the more important for them to be approachable, transparent and accessible in the public sphere and thus to convey closeness to the citizens.
Identification or even «complicity» among employees is primarily created in small groups and not in a large «army» of employees. This sociotope can be translated directly into architecture, in the form of clusters rather than rows of grids. The compact buildings create such clusters all by themselves. The workplaces within are orientated in all directions and have an attractive connection to the outside, while rooms for retreat are located in the core area. The «multi-space concept» allows a quick change between focusing in the individual office and communicating in the multi-space. The relationship between the two working environments is subject to constant change, which not only follows trends, but also individual preferences and group dynamics. The robust framework and the modular principle on which this flexibility is based are important. The routes between the clusters are self-explanatory, as the two stairwells act as bridges between the buildings, with short routes to all offices. A third bridge connects the centre of the building and opens up informal shortcuts between the floors and departments.
