The new conference hall for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is located near the headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva. It also serves as connector between the curved high rise slab of the WIPO headquarters and the new administrative building by Behnisch Architekten. Mostly closed facades, covered in larch shingles, as well as three cantilevering segments with large scale window openings comprise this sculpture-like building. It reveals itself fully to visitors who walk around it. The inside of the building – the foyer at the ground floor and the large hall for approximately 900 delegates on the upper floor – seems like a landscape of different levels connected by ramps and staircases.
Wood is used as surface material for the facades as well as the interiors. Here, its low thermal mass and the related short reaction time support conference operations during intermittent peak use. Timber is also used for the load-bearing structure with its enormous widths and cantilevers. Aside from the complex connection technology required, the mechanical equipment that needed to be integrated into the construction posed a great challenge as well. Rather than placing special ventilation ductwork within the floors, the existing voids of the box girders were used for this purpose.
During the tender process, numerous changes in the design of the timber structure took place. The realized design is based on a concept that saved both costs and material and was developed by timber engineer Hermann Blumer in collaboration with contractors specialized in timber construction. This resulted in an extraordinary structure that explores the limits of current timber construction techniques.
Wood is used as surface material for the facades as well as the interiors. Here, its low thermal mass and the related short reaction time support conference operations during intermittent peak use. Timber is also used for the load-bearing structure with its enormous widths and cantilevers. Aside from the complex connection technology required, the mechanical equipment that needed to be integrated into the construction posed a great challenge as well. Rather than placing special ventilation ductwork within the floors, the existing voids of the box girders were used for this purpose.
During the tender process, numerous changes in the design of the timber structure took place. The realized design is based on a concept that saved both costs and material and was developed by timber engineer Hermann Blumer in collaboration with contractors specialized in timber construction. This resulted in an extraordinary structure that explores the limits of current timber construction techniques.