Novartis Headquarters In Basel, Switzerland Editorial Photo

Novartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number two in sales (46.806 billion US$) among the world-wide industry in 2010. Novartis was created in 1996 from the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz Laboratories, both Swiss companies with long histories. Ciba-Geigy was formed in 1970 by the merger of J. R. Geigy Ltd (founded in Basel in 1758) and CIBA (founded in Basel in 1859). Combining the histories of the merger partners, the company's effective history spans 250 years. An ongoing Basel Campus Project has the aim to transform the Saint Johann site—Novartis headquarters in Basel—from an industrial complex to a place of innovation, knowledge, and encounter. The pharmaceutical giant decided to transform the existing Sandoz office buildings and chemical factories of its headquarters in 2001. The buildings gradually were demolished and replaced with works by architects and artists of international stature. Frank Gehry, Rafael Moneo, and from SANAA, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa were among the architects and Jenny Holzer and Richard Serra among the artists. Marked diversity of forms now dominates the campus.