One enters the complex from the east. Aside from the supporting columns and the access cores, the ground floor is open affording a view through to the garden beyond.
The central section of the building with the entrance lobby is fully glazed, while the remainder is a forest of columns through which one passes into the garden. Enclosed by a perimeter wall the garden is a plateau containing an arrangement of planting beds, benches and clearly proportioned sections of lawn. Two rows of five benches have been placed in front of freestanding glass walls with electric light sources concealed within their frames. During the day they serve as screens while at night they are transformed into freestanding illuminated objects.1
The car parking is arranged below ground. The almost square site has a height difference of five metres descending westwards making it possible for cars to access the parking via a ramp opposite the main entrance. The lower level also houses the communal facilities which open onto an interior courtyard with trees and a round swimming pool. This courtyard takes the form of a rectangular incision of 2:3 proportions in the middle of the rearward garden, resulting in outdoor areas on two levels. The trees are arranged freely in beds on the lower level and exemplify a principle seen in many of Mies’ buildings from this period in which the buildings were rigidly symmetrical but the vegetation was placed asymmetrically.