Modernizing the WHO Headquarters in Geneva

Overview

The modernization of the Geneva headquarters is necessary to address the Organization’s changing needs, tackle urgent safety and important efficiency issues, and bring the campus in line with Swiss environmental initiatives and norms.

WHO’s upgraded Geneva campus will be composed of three buildings: a new, state-of-the-art building that respectfully integrates with the iconic main building and the UNAIDS building. Together, these three buildings will create a balanced campus that will be energy efficient, conform to Swiss environmental and safety norms, and accommodate the same number of staff as are on-site today. The new campus is scheduled for completion in 2024.

A global home for health

WHO was established in 1948 and was initially housed at the Palais des Nations until the mid-1960s. After an international competition, a design by the well-known Swiss architect Jean Tschumi was chosen to create the main building of WHO’s headquarters in Geneva. Later, his son Bernard Tschumi, helped select the winning design of the extension building completed in 2021 which works in harmony with the iconic main building.