'Architecture Walk Dornach Arlesheim' was planned and set up in 2011 thanks to the joint efforts of the towns of Dornach and Arlesheim, the Anthroposophical Society in Switzerland, the Edith Maryon Foundation and the Goetheanum on the one hand and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in North-West Switzerland and other institutions on the other. The paths were festively inaugurated on 3 September 2011 and introduced to the wider public with a special 'Open House Day'.

An association 'Architecture Walk Dornach Arlesheim' was formed to provide the legal and financial framework for this undertaking and to make sure that the Dornach Colony, a unique cultural feature comprising around 180 organically shaped buildings, is made known and accessible.