This volume traces the development of the work of the Basle architects Herzog and de Meuron in the first 11 years. Much emphasis is placed on the initial design processes, made tangible through plans and sketches. Finished buildings are presented in great detail. Spanning the years 1978-1988, it covers a number of projects, and explores how the men developed a methodological basis upon which the large projects of the following years could be based. Herzog and de Meuron's early designs were so condensed with the expression, function and structure, that they formed a whole. A central theme of the first decade of their work called for taking a fresh look at building materials. A house in a garden near Basle was joined together with completely different types of plywood on the outside and inside; the outside walls of an apartment building in Tavole were layered with rough stone; and a glass shell was planned for a laboratory in Basel. The early works already demonstrated an intense interest in the design of the facade. The Pilotengasse development in Vienna's city limits was the first project to grapple with far-reaching urban planning considerations.