The building renovation strategy at WHO headquarters in Geneva is a ten-year project aimed at providing new operationally efficient campus by decreasing the overall number of buildings from nine to three, by renovating existing main building and by constructing a new energy- efficient building.   

WHO aims to meet or exceed all current local environmental and safety norms, and is working with the Canton de Genève and the team of architects to ensure this occurs. Upgrading the headquarters campus will align with the Swiss general environmental initiatives, and with the Canton de Genève’s requirements, in particular. 

The new campus will significantly reduce WHO’s CO2 emissions as the organization moves to 100% renewable heating and cooling energy. Having maximized opportunities to reduce the demand, the development will be heated and cooled through the use of GeniLac hydrothermal system with heat pumps harvesting renewable energy from Lake Geneva. 

How does a heat pump work? 
Heat pumps transfer heat by circulating a refrigerant through a cycle of evaporation and condensation, exploiting the principles of pressure/temperature relationship and thermodynamics. 

Source water from the lake (7°C at 45m deep) is passed over an evaporator coil in the new building’s heat pump, which contains a refrigerant liquid. This refrigerant liquid boils at low temperatures when compressed and absorbs heat when it evaporates. 

By manipulating the pressure of the refrigerant and passing water pumped through the building over the refrigerant pipes, heat can be produced and absorbed as required. In summer, latent heat is transferred back to the lake. In winter, latent heat is extracted from the lake water and transferred to the building. 

Compared to the existing site, the project aims to achieve a 50% reduction in energy use and a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. 

Find out more about GeniLac.