paolo venturella architecture proposes new WHO headquarters extension in geneve

paolo venturella architecture proposes new WHO headquarters extension in geneve
all images courtesy of paolo venturella

presented for the WHO headquarters in geneva competition, rome-based paolo venturella showcased a project that aimed to make a new assertion on how architecture should evolve. his proposal called ‘plus is more’ shows a building that investigates how to overcome the simplicity of the standard square-extruded structures by creating instead a simple complexity generated by some processes that he calls ‘moves’ that include dividing, discretizing, bending and creating partial subdivisions within the initial cube form.

night view

the new approach based on ‘more moves’ shapes the building and creates a more complex interior and exterior space, while adding new aesthetics. the process starts by pushing the initial form upwards, then it’s divided in half to be later on discretized, providing architectonic shapes. the bending moves create the entrances and views, while further discretization generates the terraces.

the ‘moves’ create rich interiors that host multipurpose areas 

the façade system is oriented in three different directions so the louvers are organized according to sun exposure, doubling their distances from south to west, to avoid direct lighting into office spaces. on the south side it is less dense since the sun is more vertical, while on the west side it is more dense since sun rays are lower.

view from the park

hall view 

office view 

concept diagrams 

push diagrams

plan ground floor

plan first floor

plan second floor

louvers diagram

project info:

project architect: paolo venturella
team design: cosimo scotucci, sebastiano palamara
city: geneve
year: 2015
type: competition

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: juliana neira | designboom