World Economic Forum
Geneva, Switzerland
- Category
- Corporate
- Size
- 7,000 m2
- Type
- Interior Architecture, Furniture Design, Art Sourcing, FF&E
This project is not only about redesigning a headquarter's offices. It is about redefining what a workplace becomes when work is no longer tied to a desk.
Concept and Design Direction: Milena Cvijanovich
Project Architect and Project Delivery: Teresa Ashton
The transformation explores how architecture can respond to hybrid working, community building, adaptability, wellbeing, and digital connectivity. Rather than treating the workplace as a collection of offices, it reimagines the Forum as a dynamic ecosystem where every space becomes a place of interaction, exchange, or quiet focus, allowing individuals to choose the environment best suited to concentration, collaboration, learning, or informal encounters. The result is a new model of workplace—one that supports focused work, collaboration, learning, social encounters, and global participation with equal importance.
The Adapted Workspace
Traditional rows of dedicated desks give way to a diverse landscape of work settings tailored to different activities, durations, and levels of interaction. Open work areas incorporate collaborative tables, acoustic seating, focused workstations, informal lounges, and small meeting settings, allowing individuals and teams to select the environment best suited to the task at hand. The headquarters becomes a more agile and human-centred place to work.
Biophilia, Daylight & Sustainability
Natural light, views, greenery, and sustainable materials become fundamental design tools rather than secondary considerations. Work settings are repositioned to benefit from daylight and outdoor connections, while planting is integrated throughout the headquarters to enhance wellbeing and create a stronger relationship with nature. More than seventy percent of materials, finishes, furnishings, and architectural elements are recycled, upcycled, rapidly renewable, or organically sourced, making environmental responsibility a visible part of the experience.
The World Café & Bistros
The World Café is transformed into a vibrant hospitality destination where chef-prepared meals, informal meetings, and social interaction coexist throughout the day. Complemented by a series of smaller bistros distributed across the headquarters, it provides a variety of settings for dining, conversation, and collaboration. Together, these spaces strengthen community, encourage spontaneous encounters, and support a culture of exchange beyond formal meeting rooms.
Community Hubs & Atria
Previously underutilised atria are reimagined as lively destinations inspired by the atmosphere of contemporary hotel lobbies. Flexible Community Hubs, integrated seating environments, project showcases, and digital interfaces support presentations, brainstorming sessions, informal gatherings, and dialogue with participants around the world. What were once transitional spaces become active centres of engagement that connect people, ideas, and initiatives across the organisation.
The Hotdesk
Bringing the comfort of a residential study into the heart of a busy thoroughfare.
Custom-designed for the Forum, the Hotdesk transforms major circulation routes into highly desirable places to work. Framed in oak veneer and incorporating adjustable desks, residential-style focus lamps, recycled wool seating, and integrated acoustic dividers, the element reads as a piece of architecture rather than furniture. Despite its location along a busy passageway, the carefully considered layering of materials and acoustic screening creates a surprising sense of privacy and concentration.
The future of work is not a desk. It is a choice of environments designed for different ways of thinking, collaborating, and connecting.
Milena Cvijanovich
Whether I need complete concentration, an informal conversation, or a larger gathering, there is always a place that feels perfectly suited to the moment.
Managing Director, World Economic Forum
Corporate real estate. If done well...can be a communications tool that drives engagement, collaboration, and productivity throughout the employee community.
Kendall Collins
World Economic Forum
Geneva, Switzerland
- Category
- Corporate
- Size
- 7,000 m2
- Type
- Interior Architecture, Furniture Design, Art Sourcing, FF&E
This project is not only about redesigning a headquarter's offices. It is about redefining what a workplace becomes when work is no longer tied to a desk.
Concept and Design Direction: Milena Cvijanovich
Project Architect and Project Delivery: Teresa Ashton
The transformation explores how architecture can respond to hybrid working, community building, adaptability, wellbeing, and digital connectivity. Rather than treating the workplace as a collection of offices, it reimagines the Forum as a dynamic ecosystem where every space becomes a place of interaction, exchange, or quiet focus, allowing individuals to choose the environment best suited to concentration, collaboration, learning, or informal encounters. The result is a new model of workplace—one that supports focused work, collaboration, learning, social encounters, and global participation with equal importance.
The Adapted Workspace
Traditional rows of dedicated desks give way to a diverse landscape of work settings tailored to different activities, durations, and levels of interaction. Open work areas incorporate collaborative tables, acoustic seating, focused workstations, informal lounges, and small meeting settings, allowing individuals and teams to select the environment best suited to the task at hand. The headquarters becomes a more agile and human-centred place to work.
Biophilia, Daylight & Sustainability
Natural light, views, greenery, and sustainable materials become fundamental design tools rather than secondary considerations. Work settings are repositioned to benefit from daylight and outdoor connections, while planting is integrated throughout the headquarters to enhance wellbeing and create a stronger relationship with nature. More than seventy percent of materials, finishes, furnishings, and architectural elements are recycled, upcycled, rapidly renewable, or organically sourced, making environmental responsibility a visible part of the experience.
The World Café & Bistros
The World Café is transformed into a vibrant hospitality destination where chef-prepared meals, informal meetings, and social interaction coexist throughout the day. Complemented by a series of smaller bistros distributed across the headquarters, it provides a variety of settings for dining, conversation, and collaboration. Together, these spaces strengthen community, encourage spontaneous encounters, and support a culture of exchange beyond formal meeting rooms.
Community Hubs & Atria
Previously underutilised atria are reimagined as lively destinations inspired by the atmosphere of contemporary hotel lobbies. Flexible Community Hubs, integrated seating environments, project showcases, and digital interfaces support presentations, brainstorming sessions, informal gatherings, and dialogue with participants around the world. What were once transitional spaces become active centres of engagement that connect people, ideas, and initiatives across the organisation.
The Hotdesk
Bringing the comfort of a residential study into the heart of a busy thoroughfare.
Custom-designed for the Forum, the Hotdesk transforms major circulation routes into highly desirable places to work. Framed in oak veneer and incorporating adjustable desks, residential-style focus lamps, recycled wool seating, and integrated acoustic dividers, the element reads as a piece of architecture rather than furniture. Despite its location along a busy passageway, the carefully considered layering of materials and acoustic screening creates a surprising sense of privacy and concentration.
The future of work is not a desk. It is a choice of environments designed for different ways of thinking, collaborating, and connecting.
Milena Cvijanovich
Whether I need complete concentration, an informal conversation, or a larger gathering, there is always a place that feels perfectly suited to the moment.
Managing Director, World Economic Forum
Corporate real estate. If done well...can be a communications tool that drives engagement, collaboration, and productivity throughout the employee community.
Kendall Collins