BAUMSCHLAGER EBERLE ST. GALLEN
Defining the site and participating in the development of the World Health Organisations future are our primary challenges in the development of the new WHO headquarters extension in Geneva. Our overall concept is a dialogue between the stringent specification of the topography and the need for optimal flexibility within the building.
Focusing on the essential
The WHO extension addresses the south area of the spacious WHO headquarters territory. The proposal is low in form creating a landscape component rather than a building. It completes the entire urban system, whilst integrating at the same time multiple design tasks. Its geometry sets a tone for the site without competing with the remarkable architecture of Tschumis existing main building or Saarinen’s ILO headquarters. It interacts with the existing topography as a natural act in its timelessness.
Even more, the horizontal structure supports in an unpretentious and function-based way the formulation of an architecture that becomes inde- pendent from technical systems. The body provides the framework for the relation and network of the everyday functional operation of the WHO. Three different and very spacious light courtyards create comprehensible volumes. These organically shaped outdoor spaces define the heart of the building in the flow of internal movements towards the office spaces. There, the orthogonality of the building prevails, contributing significantly to the flexibility of the plan and the smaller office units with their specific microclimate. Free space in the actual sense opens up the users with the surrounding balconies.
The facade provides the climatic characteristics of the building and determines at the same time the recognisable physiognomy of the WHO ex- tension. The optical illusion of the building envelope depends on the particular viewpoint of observation: From the side, the façade condenses, while in the frontal view, the delicacy of the structure dominates. The exposed raw glass panels raise the awareness of the depth of the façade and offices behind. With its three-dimensional visibility, the raw glass panels set anchor points of scale for the entire WHO territory.
The concept has led to an intelligent building where an advanced technology supports the ease of use, without affecting the appearance. It is the architecture itself, which ensures low energy consumption. The compact structure, the thermal efficiency of the construction and the outer structu- ral sun protection are major contributors. The project is not an act of formalism, but the attempt for cultural acceptance. Its architecture addresses the question of evolution, the research for a unique place, aiming at the creation of a coherent ensemble for the WHO Headquarters site.
Authors of the project
be baumschlager eberle
Hans-Ullrich Grassmann, Keil McConville, Cyrill de Monts de Savasse, Anne Speicher
