The Palais des Nations is home to the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), which serves as the representative European office of the Secretary-General based in Geneva. It is a focal point for multilateral diplomacy and services for more than 8,000 meetings and conferences every year, making it one of the busiest conference centers in the world.
The SHP was officially approved by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. The project, which includes the construction of a new permanent office building, will extensively renovate the main Palais des Nations complex of buildings, many of which dates back to the 1930s. The historic buildings will be fully renovated, with priority given to health and life safety building code compliance as well as providing accessibility for persons with disabilities. In addition, the historic buildings conference support systems will be upgraded, all whilst still protecting the architectural heritage of the Palais des Nations. Following a decision of the General Assembly in 2025 the total approved cost of the project, which is scheduled to be completed in 2028, is 924.2 million CHF.
Once the Strategic Heritage Plan (SHP) is completed, the Palais des Nations will be home to over 1,000 additional UN staff members.
Vision
For 75 years, UN Geneva has stood as a center for multilateralism, working for peace, human rights and well-being. The SHP will enable UN Geneva to continue delivering its objectives through the provision of modern, accessible, sustainable, and safe conferencing facilities and workplaces while protecting the heritage of the Palais des Nations.
Mission
Our mission is to modernize and rejuvenate the Palais des Nations, to leave a legacy for future generations. We strive for excellence, to achieve best value through expertise, flexibility, professionalism, and teamwork while focusing on heritage preservation and business continuity to realize the benefits of the SHP.
Project Progress
After three years of construction, the new office building H at the Palais des Nations was inaugurated in November 2021 and is home to over 1,700 staff working flexibly in a 24,000-square-meter sustainable office building..
“With the opening of this new building, we have achieved a critical component of the Strategic Heritage Plan approved by the General Assembly in 2015. It is an exciting step forward as the Palais des Nations undergoes a much-needed facelift to make it a modern workplace and conferencing facility that meets today’s standards in terms of safety and accessibility."
SHP Project Director, David Mc Cuaig.
Section AC, the first section of the historic Palais buildings under renovation, was reopened in May 2023 and is fully operational. Building D, following renovation, was received back from the contractor in August 2023.
Section S1 was substantially completed in September 2024 and became fully operational in November 2024.
Building A, which includes the Assembly Hall, was reopened in July 2025 ahead of the closure of Building E for renovation in September 2025, this ensured full business continuity of conferencing.
The temporary conference building Tempus, which was originally opened in September 2020 with three 200-seat conference rooms, was reconfigured during summer 2022 to become one large 600-seat conference room, which replaces the large rooms within Building E which are closed whilst the renovation of this building takes place.
The major schedule milestones for the project are:
- to complete, in 2027, the renovation of historic buildings including S2 and B.
- to dismantle the “E” building tower and to renovate the conference centre in Building E in order to complete the overall project in 2028
Innovative work spaces
This film presents the new Building H which is home to approximately 1,700 staff and fully supports flexible workplace strategies in an environment that prioritizes their wellbeing. Accessibility for persons with disabilities is one of the main objectives of the Strategic Heritage Plan and has been fully integrated into the design of the new building.
