The terrain with its gently undulating lines, in which the Zentrum Paul Klee has been embedded, gave the architect Renzo Piano the decisive design impulse for his building: The three hills made of steel and glass mirror the topographical features on site and resume them in such an organic manner that the building and its environment merge into a "landscape sculpture".
The Landscape Sculture is transition and metamorphosis between architecture and nature, between the urban zone and the rural surroundings. It is a surface of 2.5 hectares which is used agriculturally for the most part. This idea is an essential part of the interdisciplinary concept of the Zentrum Paul Klee. Basing on Paul Klee’s famous statement that "art does not reproduce the visible but makes things visible", the landscape sculpture wants to make visible the typical features, the exemplary of the topographical / agricultural environment – tendencies, shapes, colours and structures – and wants to establish a link to the architecture. At the same time, the agricultural utilisation meets the requirements of sustainable production.
Since the beginning of the planning work, realisation and cultivation of the landscape sculpture, the Swiss College of Agriculture SHL (Schweizerische Hochschule für Landwirtschaft SHL) in Zollikofen has provided qualified consultation. The agricultural concept is further developed continuously in close co-operation with SHL.