Today, the barracks site is a place that is difficult to access for the residents of Aarau and tends to be rather closed. There are numerous historical witnesses – such as the infantry barracks, the Old Riding Hall, the last remnant of the stables, the old cavalry barracks, the Trumpeter House, the Fleinergut and the General Herzog House – that remind us of the history of the area.

The barracks district continues its history and is gradually being opened and supplemented. Over time, a climate-sensitive, mixed-use piece of the city is being created in the centre of Aarau. The unique quarter is taking on a new character and at the same time harking back to its history: it is further developing the historical structures shaped by the military, setting the scene for its existing buildings and reorganising the open space in the form of a network of paths, squares and courtyards, with a large piazza as the central open space. The surfaces that are almost completely sealed today will become a mosaic of access areas and various green, unsealed surfaces with as many trees as possible.

The area is to develop a new, independent identity. At the same time, it should draw on its existing historical qualities and embed itself in the surrounding neighbourhood. The result is a combination of old and new that gives the neighbourhood a special charm. With its courtyard worlds, the new piece of the city embeds itself in the surrounding neighbourhood. The planning by the architect Johann Daniel Osterrieth from 1798 already envisaged the continuation of a block structure at this location. It seamlessly connects to the surrounding urban structures and creates a delicate network of paths and public courtyards through its permeability. Numerous paths cross the neighbourhood, creating new pedestrian and bicycle connections and varied spatial sequences. The entire neighbourhood is free of private car traffic and designed for pedestrians and bicycles. The design continues the principle of permeable courtyard formation through the addition of small-scale buildings, public passageways and numerous cutouts and setbacks. In this way, small spaces, visual relationships and meeting places are created now and then.