The traditional role of skins in architecture has changed from being just practical folding devices for buildings to being more interactive binding instruments for producing improvements in urban life. The envelope now challenges the idea of what is inside/outside, natural/artificial, and public/private.

The envelope enables a multi-directional approach towards architecture specifically in the form of spherical buildings. Spherical envelopes are able to incorporate a wide variety of programs under a single roof. Moreover, they also challenge the concept of what is the facade, ground, or roof.

Owing to the shift in the politics of the envelope, this project focuses on challenging the edge condition in buildings. It manipulates the edge to examine the idea of what is inside vs. outside and what is real vs. virtual. The project does this by using simple linear patterns and playing with gradients in order to explore depths of surfaces. The result of the project reveals a structure that creates illusion of depth through manipulations of the facade and questions the boundary of the envelope.

In addition to the above, the building also serves as the new headquarters for the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland.