Buildings used before completion The
Palais Wilson was used until 1936 as the main building of the League. However, from 1920 to 1929, the Assembly met in Geneva at the
Salle de la Réformation (in a building at the corner of
Boulevard Helvétique and
Rue du Rhône), then from 1930 to 1936 at the
Bâtiment électoral or
Palais Électoral (Rue du Général-Dufour 24, later used by the
Red Cross affiliated
International Prisoners-of-War Agency). For special sessions, the Assembly met at the
Pavillon du désarmement adjacent to the Palais Wilson. In 1937, the Assembly moved into the
Assembly Hall of the Palace of Nations.
Project and construction An architectural competition held in the 1920s to choose a design for the complex described the project as follows: The Palace, whose construction is the object of the competition, is intended to house all the organs of the League of Nations in Geneva. It should be designed in such a way as to allow these organs to work, to preside and to hold discussions, independently and easily in the calm atmosphere which should prevail when dealing with problems of an international dimension. A jury of nine architects was selected to choose a final design from among 377 entries:
Hendrik Petrus Berlage,
Victor Horta,
Josef Hoffman,
Charles Lemaresquier,
John James Burnet,
Attilio Muggia,
Ivar Tengbom, Carlos Gato of Madrid, and
Karl Moser. The jury was unable to choose a single winner. Ultimately, the five architects behind the leading entries were chosen to collaborate on a final design: Julien Flegenheimer of Switzerland, Camille Lefèvre and
Henri-Paul Nénot of France, Carlo Broggi of Italy and József Vágó of Hungary. Donations from League members were used in the interior.
Completion (1936) The Palace constituted at the time of completion (1936), volume wise, the second-largest building complex in Europe after
Versailles ( vs. ). A foyer2.jpg|Foyer of General Assembly Hall A foyer.jpg|Stair of Foyer A edelflur.jpg|Floor with
Art Deco details A sdpp2.jpg|Acronym of League of Nations in door detail B treppea.jpg|Stair in library building
Expansion for the UN 1973 After its transfer to the United Nations, two extensions were added to the building, which considerably increased the size of the usable area of the building. Between 1950 and 1952, three floors were added to the "K" building, and the "D" building was constructed to house temporarily the
World Health Organization. The "E" building (or "New" Building) was added between 1968 and 1973 as a conference facility (an additional eleven conference rooms and an extra volume of ), bringing the total number of conference rooms to 34. With the additions, the complex is long and holds 2,800 offices, with a total volume of E turm.jpg|Tower "E" before renovation E empore.jpg|Exhibition space Conference Room in Palace of Nations.jpg|Conference room before renovation E conf.jpg|Renovated conference room E serpent bar.jpg|Special designed chairs in "Serpent Bar" E det trep.jpg|Show stairs made of stainless steel E dta wand.jpg|Marble clad walls In December 1988, in order to hear
Yasser Arafat, the
United Nations General Assembly moved its 43rd session from the
United Nations Headquarters in New York to the Palace of Nations.
New Building H and Renovation In 2015, the UN decided to start a long term renovation of all historical buildungs and started the Strategic Heritage Plan (SHP). The main aim of the plan was to protect the heritage, take care of concerns of handicaped people, modern conference and working techiques and to reduce the ecological footprint for heating, electricity and ventilation. The new buildung H was designed by
SOM Architects and opened in 2022. H außen.jpg|New building H H entrance.jpg|Foyer H roof terrase.jpg|Roof terrace H the garden.jpg|Lush garden ==Ariana Park==