Breuer and his assistant, Gustav Hassenpflug, designed a hospital complex with multiple, stepped buildings, each serving a different function. The long, main building contained wards for children and adults, for surgical patients and for patients suffering from skin and venereal diseases. Separate buildings housed patients with infectious diseases, the hospital administrative offices, and employee housing. Breuer imagined that the buildings would be constructed out of glass and steel with cork used as sound and heat insulation. The stepped form of the building allowed for terraced balconies accessed from the patient rooms and prevented shadows from falling on the lower-story balconies.