“The Bern site is much more than just the cheapest option: it is a challenge. Public life in Bern is concentrated in the city centre or “the City”, as the people living in the suburbs say, even though they themselves are part of that city. But there’s more to Bern than just the city centre. The new museum on the outskirts of town provides an opportunity to take the key debate on the future of the City out to its periphery: where does Bern go from here?”
Berner Zeitung, 6 November 1998.

“The competition procedure normal in a democracy has been ruled out. Although as a trust under public law the Maurice E. and Martha Müller Foundation has the right to do so, and is not breaking any rules, this decision will come as a blow to those who think quality can only result from the deliberations and comparisons of a professional jury. There are others, though, who want the most out of any future Paul Klee museum, who are pleased the contract has been awarded directly to Renzo Piano. To them, the Board’s decision is a bold choice. As we well know, art and quality cannot be decided by majority rule. The fact that they have taken a risk, guided by verifiable performance, is just as clear as the opportunity they have seen that appointing a master is the only way of reaching a unique, and indeed the best, solution.”
Der Bund, 19 December 1998.