The announcement on 19 September 1997 that a Paul Klee Museum was to be built in Bern was widely welcomed by the majority of residents. Speaking for the Public Sector (the City, the Canton and the Civic Community of Bern) the Mayor of Bern Klaus Baumgartner referred to a unique opportunity “to make it up to Paul Klee and his family”. The Bern media even spoke enthusiastically of “the first steps towards an art sensation”.

The announcement also set in motion the discussion about the location, at the initiative of Bern’s architects: a feasibility study suggested a number of variants for city centre locations. The suggestion to convert the former Progymnasium ("Progr") opposite the Art Museum was by no means unanimously welcomed.