WIPO Administration Building

Located in Geneva’s international district, adjacent to the United Nations’ European Headquarters, Nation’s Plaza, and the existing WIPO headquarters, the administration building occupies a site near the lakeshore. It is set within a landscape of mature trees, established gardens, and nearby small-scale residential buildings.

The building accommodates approximately 500 workspaces in a highly flexible layout. Cellular offices are arranged around three generous, glass-roofed atria and alongside the external facades. Shared spaces, such as the double-height internal gardens and atrium stairs, enrich the circulation system while informal meeting areas distributed across the office levels further support interaction. Together, these areas play an important role in promoting communication among employees.

A cafeteria with a 300-seat restaurant area is located on ground floor. The WIPO library sits on the first floor, easily accessible from the reception area. The lower levels of the building include a delivery yard, underground parking for staff, space for storing archives, technical rooms, and other service areas. The ground floor also houses meeting facilities with interpreter booths. A spacious hallway on the first basement level with illuminated mirror-walls and glazed skylights connects the administration building with the existing WIPO building complex.

The building incorporates a range of sustainable design principles to reduce its overall energy consumption. These include the use of Lake Geneva’s water for cooling, thermally activated concrete slabs at ground-floor level, natural extraction through the stack-effect, and the optimization of natural light across all offices and ground-floor areas. In addition, devices on the glass-roofs redirect daylight, while highly insulated glass facades, paired with daylight-optimized blinds, help naturally control heat gain and glare.