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United Nations General Assembly Building

October 10, 2023

The United Nations General Assembly Building is part of the headquarters of the United Nations in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It contains the main assembly hall of the United Nations General Assembly, the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the United Nations (UN). The building was designed by a group of architects led by Wallace Harrison. It is connected to the other buildings in the UN headquarters, including the Secretariat Building and the Dag Hammarskjöld Library. Although the building is physically within the US, it is exempt from some local regulations because the site is under UN jurisdiction.

United Nations General Assembly Building
View of the General Assembly Building
General information
TypeAssembly hall
Architectural styleModern
LocationInternational territory in
Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates40°45′00″N 73°58′04″W / 40.75000°N 73.96778°W / 40.75000; -73.96778
Current tenantsUnited Nations General Assembly
GroundbreakingSeptember 14, 1948 (complex)
Construction startedFebruary 16, 1950
OpenedOctober 10, 1952
Renovated1978–1979, 2013–2014
Governing bodyUnited Nations
Dimensions
Other dimensions380 by 160 ft (116 by 49 m)
Technical details
Structural systemSteel superstructure
MaterialPortland limestone (façade)
Floor count5
Design and construction
Architect(s)United Nations Headquarters Board of Design
(Wallace Harrison, Oscar Niemeyer, Le Corbusier, etc.)
Main contractorGeorge A. Fuller Company
Turner Construction
Walsh Construction Company
Slattery Contracting Company

The General Assembly Building is a four-story structure measuring 380 by 160 ft (116 by 49 m), with concave walls to the west and east, as well as a concave roof with a dome. The building contains a lobby for journalists and the general public to the north, as well as a lobby for delegates to the south. The central portion of the General Assembly Building is the General Assembly Hall, which has a seating capacity of 1,800 and measures 165 ft (50 m) long, 115 ft (35 m) wide, and 75 ft (23 m) tall. Each delegation has six seats in the hall, which face south toward a rostrum and a paneled semicircular wall with booths. The building also contains other spaces, including a delegates' lounge and the president of the United Nations General Assembly's offices on the second floor; a meditation room on the ground floor; and various shops and conference rooms in the basement.

The design process for the United Nations headquarters formally began in February 1947. The General Assembly Building was the third building to be constructed at the headquarters, after the Secretariat and Conference buildings. Construction of the General Assembly Building's steelwork began in February 1950, and the building was formally dedicated on October 10, 1952. The rapid enlargement of the United Nations prompted the UN to modify the hall's layout several times in the 1960s. The General Assembly Hall was closed for renovation from 1978 to 1979 to accommodate additional delegations. The building started to deteriorate in the 1980s due to a lack of funding, and UN officials considered renovating the complex by the late 1990s, but the project was deferred for several years. As part of a wide-ranging project that began in 2008, the General Assembly Building was renovated from 2013 to 2014.

Site Edit

The General Assembly Building is part of the headquarters of the United Nations in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City.[1] It occupies a land lot bounded by First Avenue to the west, 42nd Street to the south, the East River to the east, and 48th Street to the north.[1][2] Although it is physically within the United States, the underlying land is under the jurisdiction of the United Nations (UN).[3] The site is technically extraterritorial through a treaty agreement with the US government, though it is not a territory governed by the UN.[4][5] Most local, state, and federal laws still apply within the UN headquarters.[5] Due to the site's extraterritorial status, the headquarters buildings are not New York City designated landmarks, since such a designation falls under the purview of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.[6]

The General Assembly Building occupies the center of the United Nations site, stretching roughly between 44th Street to the south and 45th Street to the north.[7] The building is directly connected to the Conference Building (housing the Security Council) at its southeast, and it also indirectly connects with the United Nations Secretariat Building and the Dag Hammarskjöld Library to the south.[2][8] The Japanese Peace Bell is just south of the building,[9] and a grove of sycamore trees is planted to the side.[10] On the western part of the site, along First Avenue, are the flags of the UN, its member states, and its observer states.[11] Outside of the UN headquarters, Trump World Tower and the Japan Society are to the northwest, and the Millennium Hilton New York One UN Plaza hotel is to the southwest.[1]

Historically, the site was part of a cove called Turtle Bay. The cove, located between what is now 45th and 48th Streets, was fed by a stream that ran from the present-day intersection of Second Avenue and 48th Street.[12] A creek from the southern end of modern-day Central Park also drained into Turtle Bay.[13] The first settlement on the site was a tobacco farm built in 1639.[14] The site was developed with residences in the 19th century.[9] Slaughterhouses operated on the eastern side of First Avenue for over a hundred years until the construction of the United Nations headquarters.[14] The UN purchased the site in 1946 under the sole condition that it could never slaughter cattle on the land.[15]

Architecture Edit

The General Assembly Building was designed in the International Style by a team of ten architects working under planning director Wallace K. Harrison.[16] The Board of Design comprised N. D. Bassov of the Soviet Union; Gaston Brunfaut of Belgium; Ernest Cormier of Canada; Le Corbusier of France; Liang Seu-cheng of China; Sven Markelius of Sweden; Oscar Niemeyer of Brazil; Howard Robertson of the United Kingdom; G. A. Soilleux of Australia; and Julio Vilamajó of Uruguay.[17][18] In addition, David Fine of United States Steel oversaw the construction of the General Assembly Building.[19]

Form and facade Edit

 
The building as seen from 44th Street, with its shallow dome at center

The five-story massing of the General Assembly Building is shaped similarly to a saddle.[20][21] The wide western and eastern elevations of the facade curve inward[20][22][23] and measure approximately 380 ft (120 m) wide.[22][24] The roof of the building also curves inward, leading Time magazine to compare the building to a tarpaulin.[23] The narrower northern and southern elevations are flat[20] and measure 160 ft (49 m) wide.[24] There are no windows on First Avenue. The original plans for the building called for the facade to be made of marble,[21] but the facade was ultimately built of Portland stone from England.[21][25] The facade contains about 12,000 cu ft (340 m3) of Portland stone.[26][27] There is a double-level emergency exit ramp facing First Avenue.[25]

In contrast to the rectangular Secretariat Building, the General Assembly Building has a curving massing; even the walls and floors are not perpendicular.[25] Le Corbusier, who had designed the building's massing, had intended for the curving shape to be the visual focal point of the entire headquarters complex.[28] The center of the building, directly above the General Assembly Hall, contains a shallow dome above it.[20][23] The building's roof was initially supposed to be an uninterrupted curve, but the dome was added after the chief of the United States Mission to the United Nations had suggested it.[29] According to one account, the inclusion of the dome was intended to convince United States Congress to approve funding for the headquarters more quickly, at a time when there was not much funding available for the project.[29][30]

The doorways to the General Assembly Building are on the southern and northern elevations of the facade.[31][32] The south elevation measures about 53.5 ft (16.3 m) tall;[32][33] it contains glass walls that are recessed within a marble frame and divided by a grid of metal window frames.[22][33][34] The north elevation contains vertical marble piers interspersed with photosensitive glass.[35] The architects wanted to create a lighting effect commonly seen in cathedrals, so they made the glass walls translucent.[36] Heating ducts are embedded within these marble piers.[37] The Canadian government donated seven nickel-and-bronze doors, which were installed at the main entrances of the building.[36][38] Each door measures about 4 ft (1.2 m) wide by about 10 ft (3.0 m) tall.[38] There are four bas relief panels on each door, which depict peace, justice, truth, and fraternity.[22][38] The southern entrance near 44th Street is used by delegates, while the northern entrance between 45th and 46th Street is used by the public.[39]

Interior Edit

The building contains three levels of galleries; the delegates use the second level, while the public and members of the media use the first and third levels.[31][40] The passageways used by journalists and members of the public were physically separated from the passageways used by delegates.[41] In keeping with the UN's international character, the building's interior is decorated with furniture, artwork, and other fittings from around the world.[42] For example, the governments of India and Ecuador donated rugs and carpets,[43] while the Thai government donated seats.[42] The building also contains artwork donated by the governments of Belgium and Brazil, as well as a Foucault pendulum donated by the Netherlands.[44] In addition, the building contained over 3,000 specimens of plants, representing 20 species.[45] The interiors retain some of their 1950s-era design details, such as synchronized office clocks and vintage exit signs.[46]

Lobbies Edit

 
Interior of the north lobby, with the stepped ramp in the background

The north lobby was designed as the entrance for journalists and members of the public.[31][40][47] Three balcony levels are cantilevered over the space.[48] The lobby measures 75 ft (23 m) high and is topped by a circular skylight measuring about 4 ft (1.2 m) across.[22] A statue of the ancient Greek god Poseidon, donated by the Greek government, stands in the middle of the lobby.[49][50] The space also contains a scallop-shaped information kiosk.[51] A stepped ramp leads from the ground level to the first balcony. It contained numerous species of plants, which were illuminated by concealed spotlights.[45] There is a 200 lb (91 kg) Foucault pendulum adjacent to the stepped ramp, donated by the Dutch government.[8][52] The left (east) wall of the north lobby contains a concourse leading to the south lobby, while the right (west) wall includes a meditation room.[22][53] The north lobby also contains passageways to meeting rooms, as well as space for exhibits.[47][53]

The south lobby is the delegates' entrance.[31][40][47] There is a hospitality room next to the delegates' lobby,[53] as well as two information desks in that lobby.[54] Directly behind the south lobby's glass facade is a set of escalators for delegates.[55] On the second floor is a tapestry designed by Belgian artist Peter Colfs, entitled Triumph of Peace.[56][54] The tapestry depicts numerous allegorical figures on a blue-and-green background.[56][57] Measuring 43 ft 6 in (13.26 m) wide and 28 ft 6 in (8.69 m) high,[54][56] it was the world's largest tapestry when it was completed.[58][59] Brazilian painter Candido Portinari also designed War and Peace, a pair of murals on the first floor. Each mural measures 46 by 34 ft (14 by 10 m).[54][60][61]

General Assembly Hall Edit

"General Assembly Hall" redirects here. Not to be confused with General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland.

The central feature of the building is the General Assembly Hall, which has a seating capacity of 1,800.[62] The room is 165 ft (50 m) long and 115 ft (35 m) wide.[63] The hall occupies the second through fourth stories of the building.[24][64] During planning, the General Assembly Hall was intended to accommodate 850 delegates, 350 journalists, and 900 members of the public.[23][65][a] As built, the main floor could seat either 636[66] or 750 delegates,[67] while the booths and balconies within the hall could accommodate 234 journalists and 800 members of the public.[66][67] By 1977, the hall could accommodate 1,060 delegates and alternate delegates; 160 journalists; 336 members of the public; and 542 advisers or guests of delegations.[8]

Rostrum Edit
 
United Nations General Assembly hall, facing the rostrum
 
Full view of the hall

At the front (south) of the chamber is the rostrum containing the green marble desk for the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General, and the Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services.[22][62][68] There is also a podium designed in a similar style.[22][62] Behind the rostrum is the UN emblem on a gold background,[22][69] which is surrounded by shields measuring 3 ft (0.91 m) across.[22] The seal was originally surrounded by disc-shaped lights, but reporters could not take high-quality photos and videos of speakers at the rostrum as a result, so the lights were covered with gold leaf.[68] The south wall of the General Assembly Hall, behind the rostrum, was originally adorned with the seals of countries that were part of the UN in 1952.[55][70] American artist Bruce Gregory created the seals. The emblems of the UN's 51 original member states would have been mounted in English alphabetical order, while the seals of later additions would have been placed to the sides.[71] Of the 60 seals ordered, 54 were completed before Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld scrapped the seals in 1955.[70] The existing seals were removed in 1956.[72]

Flanking the rostrum, in the southern half of the room, is a paneled semi-circular wall that tapers as it nears the ceiling and surrounds the front portion of the chamber.[64][73] The lower section of the wall is made of a fluted wood (possibly mahogany) with either brass[22] or copper alloy.[30] The wall's upper section is made of acoustic tile.[22] The fluted wood walls were intended to improve the hall's acoustics.[37][55] The hall is surrounded by two levels of booths for interpreters, the media, and photographers.[22][64][41] These booths are placed within the fluted-wood panels;[55] there were initially 34 booths in total.[65] The booths are arranged in a similar layout to a theater in the round but are enclosed.[48] The north balcony of the General Assembly Hall contains a little-used double door with a marble doorway and circular handles. This door is most often used by high officials and royalty, and it leads to a corridor that slopes down steeply to the center of the hall.[42]

The ceiling above the rostrum is a shallow dome measuring 75 ft (23 m) high.[64][73] The dome is similar to those in buildings constructed for the US federal government.[30] The upper part of the dome is painted in a sky-blue color and is plain in design.[22][73] Four sets of floodlights surround the dome. In addition, the top of the dome contains a plaster medallion, with a skylight measuring 5 ft (1.5 m) across.[22]

Delegates' seats Edit

The northern half of the room has a more standard layout, with delegates' seats on the main floor and a balcony surrounding this level.[22][73] Each delegation sits at a desk facing the rostrum.[24] Each delegate's desk is fitted with a fixed receiver, a microphone control, and buttons for electronic voting.[8][41] There are also earphones, allowing delegates to listen either to the speakers at the rostrum or to interpreters speaking in one of the official languages of the United Nations.[8][30] The delegations in the first row are selected randomly each year, and the remaining delegations are seated in English alphabetical order following the delegations in the front row.[74][75][b] The General Assembly Hall was expanded in 1980, when capacity was increased to accommodate the increased membership.[62] Each of the delegations has six seats in the hall:[74][76] three beige chairs for full delegates and three blue seats for alternate delegates.[30]

This section contains two murals, which were designed by the French artist Fernand Léger and painted by his student Bruce Gregory.[77][78] The murals each measure 30 ft (9.1 m) high.[77] The mural on the left wall is painted in orange, gray, and white, while the mural on the right wall is painted in blue, yellow, and white.[77][79] US president Harry S. Truman called the left mural "Scrambled Eggs" and the right mural "Bugs Bunny".[79] The murals were presented by the American Association for the United Nations on behalf of an anonymous donor.[30][79] Aline B. Louchheim characterized Léger's murals as "something handsome" and said that each of the murals' different shapes had vitality.[80] The ceiling of the hall lacks decorative finishes[37] and contains recessed lighting.[64]

Other first- and second-story spaces Edit

On the second floor, directly behind the General Assembly Hall, is the GA 200 room.[53][81] The room, which spans either 2,000 or 2,500 sq ft (190 or 230 m2), contains offices for the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the President of the United Nations General Assembly.[82][83] The space is used for private meetings with the Secretary-General, and it also contains a press area, offices, and lounge.[81] The wall is decorated with an oil painting by Johannes Kjarval, a gift from the Icelandic government.[84] In 2005, a group of Swiss firms redecorated the space in a minimalist style. The modern design contains walnut-wood walls, a cream-colored carpet, sliding partitions, and custom furniture.[82][83] The offices for the General Assembly President and the Secretary-General are placed behind the sliding partitions. The room's furniture, walls, and floor contains the word "peace" inscribed in the official languages of the United Nations. In addition, the preamble to the charter of the United Nations is inscribed on the north wall, directly behind the rostrum.[82]

There is a delegates' lounge on the south side of the second floor, which also connects with the Conference Building along the East River.[85][86] In 1961, The New York Times characterized the room as "the place where understandings on critical matters are often prearranged".[87] The north wall of the delegates' lounge, facing the East River, is made of glass.[86][87][88] The lounge contained modern-style furniture such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona chairs and Florence Knoll's club chairs,[89] and the plants in the room were selected based on whether they could survive wind drafts and tobacco smoke.[45] The lounge originally measured 23 ft (7.0 m) high; a mezzanine was added above the lounge in the 1970s, but the mezzanine was removed in 2013 following a renovation designed by Rem Koolhaas and several Dutch designers. The modern lounge contains a resin bar and information desk, as well as a digital bulletin board to the west.[88] Next to the delegates' lounge is the East Foyer (which connects directly to the south lobby) and the Indonesian Lounge.[53][54] The Kiswa of the Holy Kaaba, a gift from the government of Saudi Arabia,[90] is hung in the Indonesian Lounge.[91]

The meditation room next to the north lobby can accommodate about 30 people.[22] When the meditation room opened in 1952, it was centered around a 250-year-old African mahogany stump.[92] This was replaced in 1957 with a piece of Swedish iron ore measuring 6.5 short tons (5.8 long tons; 5.9 t),[93][94] donated by the King of Sweden and the Government of Sweden.[95] The meditation room also contained a fresco by Swedish artist Bo Beskow, which was dedicated in 1957.[95][96] The meditation room was closed in the 1980s due to vandalism, though it was reopened in 1998.[94] The first story of the General Assembly Building also contains silk-rug portraits of all Secretaries-General of the United Nations, which were donated by Iran in 1997.[97][98]

Basement spaces Edit

There is a large conference room and eight smaller conference rooms (originally four[8][99]) in the basement beneath the General Assembly Hall.[53] The large room can fit about 60 people, while the smaller rooms can fit 40 people each.[99] One of the conference rooms is decorated with wood paneling donated by the British government;[99][100][101] each panel depicts an animal, bird, or flower in the United Kingdom.[100] That room, which has 33 seats, is officially labeled as Conference Room 8 but is nicknamed the United Kingdom Room.[101] The governments of Australia and New Zealand also donated wood paneling for the conference rooms.[43]

The basement also has television and radio studios, a sound-recording studio, and a master control room for the United Nations headquarters' communication system.[8] The main TV studio, known as Studio H, is used for both live broadcasts and taped messages;[102] there are also five radio studios.[103] In addition, the basement has several facilities for visitors including a coffee shop, gift shop, stamp sales counter, souvenir shop, and bookstore.[8][53] The United Nations' Public Inquiries Unit is also housed in the basement.[104]

History Edit

Development Edit

Real estate developer William Zeckendorf purchased a site on First Avenue in 1946, intending to create a development called "X City", but he could not secure funding for the development.[105][106][107] At the time, the UN was operating out of a temporary headquarters in Lake Success, New York,[108] although it wished to build a permanent headquarters in the US.[109] Several cities competed to host the UN headquarters before New York City was selected.[109][110] John D. Rockefeller Jr. paid US$8.5 million for an option on the X City site,[109][111] and he donated it to the UN in December 1946.[111][112][113] The UN accepted this donation, despite the objections of several prominent architects such as Le Corbusier.[111][112] The UN hired planning director Wallace Harrison, of the firm Harrison & Abramovitz, to lead the headquarters' design.[111] He was assisted by a Board of Design composed of ten architects.[62][17][18]

Planning Edit

 
The 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld, in front of the General Assembly Building with the Secretariat Building in the background

The design process for the United Nations headquarters formally began in February 1947.[114][115][116] Each architect on the Board of Design devised his own plan for the site, and some architects created several schemes.[18][117] All the plans had to include at least three buildings: one each for the General Assembly, the Secretariat, and conference rooms.[18][118] The plans had to comply with several "basic principles". For instance, the General Assembly Building was to be built on the northern end of the site, opposite the Secretariat Building on the south end.[119] By March 1947, the architects had devised preliminary sketches for the headquarters.[119][120] The same month, the Board of Design published two alternative designs for a five-building complex, anchored by the Secretariat Building to the south and a pair of 35-story buildings to the north.[120][121][122]

After much discussion, Harrison decided to select a design based on the proposals of two board members, Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier.[123][17][124] Even though the design process was a collaborative effort,[117][124] Le Corbusier took all the credit, saying the buildings were "100% the architecture and urbanism of Le Corbusier".[120] The Board of Design presented their final plans for the United Nations headquarters in May 1947. The plans called for a 45-story Secretariat tower at the south end of the site, a 30-story office building at the north end, and several low-rise structures (including the General Assembly Building) in between.[125][126] The committee unanimously agreed on this plan.[118] In the original plan, the massing of the General Assembly Building had resembled a giant fan.[117][127]

The project was facing delays by mid-1947, when a slaughterhouse operator on the site requested that it be allowed to stay for several months.[15][128] The complex was originally planned to cost US$85 million.[129][130] Demolition of the site started in July 1947.[131][132] The same month, UN Secretary-General Trygve Lie and the architects began discussing ways to reduce construction costs by downsizing the headquarters.[130] The General Assembly voted to approve the design for the headquarters in November 1947.[24][132] By the following month, the architects were revising plans for the General Assembly Building, though the rest of the complex was to remain unchanged. The revised plan called for a "wedge-shaped" structure with blank walls.[127] There would have been two auditoriums, which would have faced each other in an hourglass-shaped arrangement, with straight western and eastern walls. The architects eliminated one of the auditoriums to reduce construction costs, but the hourglass-shaped layout of the building was retained, albeit with curved side walls.[133]

Construction Edit

In April 1948, US president Truman requested that the United States Congress approve an interest-free loan of US$65 million to fund construction.[134][135] Because Congress did not approve the loan for several months, there was uncertainty over whether the project would proceed.[132][136] Congress authorized the loan in August 1948, of which US$25 million was made available immediately from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.[137][138] Lie predicted the US$25 million advance would only be sufficient to pay for the Secretariat Building's construction, thus delaying the completion of the other buildings.[139] The groundbreaking ceremony for the initial buildings occurred on September 14, 1948, when work on the Secretariat Building commenced.[132][140] The General Assembly Building would be the third and final major structure in the complex to be completed, with a projected opening date of late 1951.[141] Fuller Turner Walsh Slattery Inc., a joint venture between the George A. Fuller Company, Turner Construction, the Walsh Construction Company, and the Slattery Contracting Company, was selected in December 1948 to construct the Secretariat Building and the foundations for the remaining buildings.[142][143]

The site had been excavated by February 1949.[144][145] The project was delayed later that year due to a labor strike by steelworkers.[146][147] That December, the UN awarded a steel contract for the building to the American Bridge Company. By then, the structure was scheduled to be completed in 1952.[148][149] The contract, as finalized in March 1950, called for 10,000 short tons (8,900 long tons; 9,100 t) of steel at a cost of US$1.7 million.[150][151] In response to criticism that the general contracts for the construction of the UN headquarters had been awarded exclusively to American firms, UN officials indicated that they might hire foreign firms to supply materials for the General Assembly Building.[152] That July, the UN awarded a US$11 million contract to Fuller Turner Walsh Slattery Inc. for the construction of the General Assembly Building, as well as the northern half of the UN headquarters' parking lot (directly under the building).[153][154] At the time, the hall was slated to be completed in time for the sixth session of the General Assembly in 1952.[154]

Construction of the building's steelwork began on February 16, 1951, at which point the basement garage was nearly completed.[155] By that April, workers were rapidly erecting the steelwork for the General Assembly Building.[156] There were significant delays in importing the Portland stone, and only one-fourth of the total stonework had been delivered by May 1951. This led officials to express concern that the building would not be able to host the General Assembly in 1952.[26][27] In addition, the American Bridge Company said there were difficulties in constructing the steel structure for the dome.[27] All of the stonework had arrived by August 1951.[157] The building was nearly complete by May 1952, when the delegations voted to delay the start of the General Assembly session by one month, allowing workers to install electrical equipment and furnish the interior.[158] The General Assembly Building hosted an architectural exhibition of the United Nations headquarters in June 1952, prior to the building's official opening.[159]

Opening and early years Edit

 
Seen from the northern end of the building, with the Secretariat Building in the background

The building was formally dedicated on October 10, 1952, when Secretary-General Trygve Lie presided over a ceremony there.[160][161] The event marked the completion of the United Nations headquarters, which had cost US$68 million to construct, about US$3 million over the original budget.[161] The first General Assembly session in the building commenced four days later on October 14.[161] Former US first lady Eleanor Roosevelt dedicated a gift shop in the General Assembly Building's basement the same day.[43] The General Assembly Hall could fit 90 delegations, more than enough to accommodate all 60 UN members at the time of the building's completion. The New York Times wrote in 1954: "It is taken for granted here that there will continue to be a considerable amount of waste space in the hall for some time to come."[162] The American Association for the United Nations started conducting guided public tours of the headquarters when the General Assembly Building was completed.[163][164] The guided tours were highly popular, attracting 250,000 guests during six months in 1953.[165]

UN officials installed a temporary meditation room next to the north lobby in late 1952,[92] although a lack of funds prevented the installation of a permanent room.[166] The UN built a security checkpoint next to the north lobby in February 1953,[167] and Columbia University Press began operating the bookshop in the building's basement later that year.[168] Under the tenure of Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, the General Assembly Building also began hosting concerts on United Nations Day and other special occasions;[169] the first such concert took place on United Nations Day in 1954.[170] The UN dedicated Peter Colfs's Triumph of Peace tapestry at the building that October.[58][59] A coffee shop in the basement opened in August 1954 as part of a US$380,000 renovation of the basement,[171] and the seals in the Assembly Hall's rostrum were removed that year.[72] The meditation room next to the north lobby was remodeled in February 1957,[172] and Candido Portinari's War and Peace murals were dedicated at the building that September.[60]

UN expansion Edit

By 1957, the UN had 82 member states and was expanding rapidly. UN officials planned to replace portions of the observers' seating areas with seats for delegates.[173] At the 1960 meeting of the General Assembly, Hammarskjöld had proposed a wide-ranging renovation program costing US$7.7 million, but this was not executed due to a lack of funds.[174] Instead, the UN commenced a smaller renovation of the General Assembly Hall and the adjacent Conference Building in June 1960,[175][176] which was estimated to cost US$100,000.[175] The UN removed over 100 observers' seats and installed desks for six additional delegations. The work was completed in August 1961.[177] The same year, Abstract Sculpture by American artist Ezio Martinelli[178] was mounted on the eastern elevation of the building's facade.[179] Prior to the 1962 General Assembly session, the UN reduced the size of the journalists' galleries so the hall could accommodate 108 delegations.[179] Even so, there was so little space that some delegates had to sit in the journalists' seating area during the 1962 meeting.[180][181]

The UN's planners had concluded that the headquarters could not fit additional delegations without undergoing significant renovations. To fit the new delegations, Secretary-General U Thant proposed either moving the journalists' seating areas or reducing each delegation to five seats.[182] In late 1962, the General Assembly's budgetary committee approved plans to install microphones for delegates and to expand the hall's seating capacity to accommodate 126 delegations, though the committee rejected a more expensive proposal to expand the headquarters.[180] Following complaints that the hall's cramped layout made it difficult to conduct roll call votes,[183] the General Assembly started testing an electronic voting system in 1964.[184] The UN also renovated the hall for US$3 million the same year. The work included reducing the number of seats for each delegation from 10 to 6; relocating the journalists' seating areas to make way for delegates' seating; and dividing part of the basement to create a TV studio and additional office space.[185]

 
South lobby of the General Assembly Building

The UN continued to expand through the 1970s, further straining its physical facilities.[186] By 1977, the General Assembly was considering expanding the Assembly Hall to accommodate up to 178 delegations.[187] A bronze bust of the composer Pablo Casals, who had performed at the General Assembly Hall twice, was dedicated in the north lobby the same year.[188] The Fuller Company began expanding the General Assembly Hall in January 1978 as part of a US$26 million renovation of the entire complex, designed by Harrison & Abramovitz. Workers installed new wiring under the concrete floors, and the UN hired a Canadian company to refurbish the delegates' chairs, since the manufacturer of the original chairs no longer existed. The first phase of the renovation was completed in September 1979, prior to the opening of the General Assembly session. The expanded hall could fit up to 182 delegations.[189] The renovation project as a whole was completed by 1981.[190][191]

All nations were given six General Assembly seats regardless of how large their delegations were.[74][76] Some of the smaller delegations had as few as one member and always left several seats empty, while other delegations had to alternate their seats between dozens of members.[74] Smoking was initially allowed in the entire complex, but the General Assembly banned smoking in some of the building's smaller rooms in 1983. At the time, people were still allowed to smoke within the General Assembly Hall and in private offices.[192] The General Assembly typically only met between September and December, but the UN continued to host tours of the hall throughout the year. In addition, the delegates' cafeteria and the basement shops were open to tourists.[193]

Renovation and 21st century Edit

Due to funding shortfalls in the 1980s, the UN diverted funding from its headquarters' maintenance fund to peacekeeping missions and other activities.[194] By 1998, the building had become technologically dated, and UN officials considered renovating the headquarters.[195] The mechanical systems were so outdated that the UN had to manufacture its own replacement parts.[196][197] The New York Times wrote that "if the United Nations had to abide by city building regulations [...] it might well be shuttered".[194][198] At the time, the UN had proposed renovating the building for US$800 million, as UN officials had concluded that the long-term cost of renovations would be cheaper than doing nothing. The UN's proposed budget for 1999 included US$22 million for fixing the roofs of the General Assembly Building and other structures in the UN complex.[194] The UN commissioned a report from engineering firm Ove Arup & Partners, which published its findings in 2000.[199] The report recommended renovating the UN headquarters over a six-year period, including the General Assembly Hall.[6][199][200] The UN could not secure funding for the project at the time.[199]

After Switzerland joined the UN in 2002, the Swiss government renovated the GA 200 room behind the General Assembly Hall's rostrum, which was rededicated in 2005.[82][83] In addition, Ranan Lurie's mural Uniting Painting was temporarily installed in the north lobby in 2005, marking the first time that the UN allowed a large-scale independent art installation at its headquarters.[201] The UN decided to renovate its existing structures over a seven-year period for US$1.6 billion.[202] Louis Frederick Reuter IV originally designed the renovation, but he resigned in 2006 following various disputes between UN and US officials. Michael Adlerstein was hired as the new project architect.[196] Engineering firm Skanska was hired to renovate the Secretariat, Conference, and General Assembly buildings in July 2007.[203][204] At that point, the cost of the project had risen to US$1.9 billion.[196][204]

The renovation of the United Nations headquarters formally began in 2008, though other buildings were renovated first;[205] the same year, the General Assembly banned smoking in the remainder of the General Assembly Building.[206] The complex was retrofitted with various green building features as part of the project.[29] The General Assembly Building was closed for renovations on May 31, 2013.[207] During the project, the General Assembly met at a temporary building on the UN headquarters' North Lawn.[208] Audio speakers were installed in place of the hall's former ashtrays, which had become obsolete.[206] The project also included cleaning the walls, as well as removing asbestos fireproofing and mercury from the hall.[206] Workers installed an air-conditioning system under the General Assembly Hall's floor and added monitors to the desks.[209] The murals by Fernand Leger were also restored.[78] An ivory sculpture in the north lobby, a gift from the Chinese government, was also removed.[206] When the building reopened in September 2014, it was the last structure in the UN headquarters to have been upgraded to New York City building codes.[206]

Critical reception Edit

When the building was completed in 1952, Architectural Forum wrote that the "new Assembly Hall is almost as different as possible from the expectation raised by its chaste marble shell".[210] According to Architectural Forum, the design of the building "marked an architectural shift—from emphasis on 'function' and structural logic to emphasis on form and the logic of art."[23] The New York Herald Tribune wrote that the roof "provides a dramatic foil to [the headquarters'] rigorous lines".[211] Life magazine characterized the building as having a "clifflike front of marble and glass" along with "pinch-waisted walls",[212] while the South China Morning Post said the building had been likened to a "modern motion picture palace".[2] Architectural Forum spoke in support of the design, saying it had arisen from "a different temper and a different approach from some of the best known modern masters".[73][213]

Many commentators were highly critical of the design.[73][214] Architectural Forum wrote: "Only a handful of the critics seemed willing to recognize that perhaps Harrison, a man of many notable accomplishments, might have had some good reason for deviating so far from canons of contemporary architecture."[214] George Howe of the Yale School of Architecture disagreed with Architectural Forum's characterization of the building as "popular baroque", saying: "I should prefer a more analytical adjective. One might call this interior, for example, the legislative phase of modern architecture."[21][214] Pietro Belluschi of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning was even more direct in his disapproval, saying: "If this is the fruit of 50 years' trial and error in architectural thinking, there is reason to be discouraged."[21][214] Architectural Forum also interviewed Robert Woods Kennedy, a younger architect who called it "eclecticism turned modern",[21][214] and Landis Gores, a modernist who said "the ineptness apparent everywhere in the Assembly Building cannot be excused by a counteroffensive against architectural principle".[215] One of the few supporters of the design was Nathaniel A. Owings of the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, who said it was a "very interesting and successful building, with nothing about it that wasn't a logical development of a reasonable research program".[216]

Some of the criticism arose from the fact that the building's massing did not necessarily reflect its function, contrasting with the views of many modern architects.[48] Architectural critic Lewis Mumford said that "one could forgive all the architectural lapses" in the complex when they viewed the buildings from the north.[21][217] Mumford likened the "billowing forms" of the north lobby's parapets to drawings by German architect Erich Mendelsohn.[21][217] British journalist Alistair Cooke wrote for The Manchester Guardian that the dome "looks as if it had keeled over in a bog of cement that had failed to harden".[67] The modernist architect Paul Rudolph said "the building is not really a product of the International Style but rather a background for a grade 'B' movie about 'one world' with Rita Hayworth dancing up the main ramp".[21][48] Rudolph also criticized the fact that the building's exterior did not at all resemble its interior.[73][35]

The General Assembly Building and its connected structures have been depicted in numerous films such as The Glass Wall (1953) and North by Northwest (1959).[218] The 2005 film The Interpreter was the first to actually be filmed inside the headquarters.[219][220] During the filming of The Interpreter in 2004, The New York Times wrote that the building "was not an instant hit with the architectural community when it opened in 1952, and it is interesting in light of this latest chapter in its history to see how its detractors chose to put it down".[221]

References Edit

Notes Edit

  1. ^ According to Progressive Architecture, the building had to accommodate 800 diplomats (80 nations with 5 delegates and 5 advisors each), 300 observers, 320 journalists, and 1,000 members of the public.[41]
  2. ^ For example, in 1952, the Soviet Union (seated under the name USSR), United Kingdom, and United States were seated in the front. The next countries alphabetically were Uruguay, Venezuela, and Yugoslavia, which were seated in the second row. Since Yugoslavia was the last country alphabetically, the third row contained the delegation of Afghanistan, the first country alphabetically. The rearmost row contained the delegation of South Africa, which preceded the Soviet Union alphabetically.[75]

Citations Edit

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Sources Edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to United Nations General Assembly Building.
  • Adlerstein, Michael (2015). United Nations Secretariat: Renovation of a Modernist Icon (PDF) (Report). Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
  • Betsky, Aaron; Murphy, Ben (2005). The U.N. Building. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-34216-4. OCLC 60667951.
  • Churchill, Henry Stern (July 1952). "United Nations Headquarters; A Description and Appraisal" (PDF). Architectural Record. Vol. 112.
  • Iglauer, Edith (December 1, 1947). "The UN Builds Its Home". Harper's Magazine. Vol. 195, no. 181. ProQuest 1301538833.
  • Stern, Robert A. M.; Fishman, David; Tilove, Jacob (2006). New York 2000: Architecture and Urbanism Between the Bicentennial and the Millennium. New York: Monacelli Press. ISBN 978-1-58093-177-9. OCLC 70267065. OL 22741487M.
  • Stern, Robert A. M.; Mellins, Thomas; Fishman, David (1995). New York 1960: Architecture and Urbanism Between the Second World War and the Bicentennial. New York: Monacelli Press. ISBN 1-885254-02-4. OCLC 32159240. OL 1130718M.
  • "UN Assembly: How do architects like it? First reaction: most of them don't" (PDF). Architectural Forum. Vol. 100. December 1952.
  • "UN General Assembly: Does it mean a turning point of modern architecture? Or is it the 'bankruptcy of the international style'?" (PDF). Architectural Forum. Vol. 100. October 1952.
  • "UN General Assembly meets a complex plan problem with the "visual poetry" of an elegant concave shape" (PDF). Architectural Forum. Vol. 98. May 1950.
  • "U.N. Headquarters Progress Report" (PDF). Progressive Architecture. Vol. 31. June 1950.
  • "U.N.'s Workshop". Life. Vol. 33. Time Inc. November 3, 1952. ISSN 0024-3019.
  • "United Nations Headquarters Serves as Meeting Place of World: Construction and Related Costs of Buildings Placed at $73 Million". UN Chronicle. Vol. 14, no. 2. February 1977. ProQuest 1844328210.

October 10, 2023
united, nations, general, assembly, building, part, headquarters, united, nations, turtle, neighborhood, manhattan, york, city, united, states, contains, main, assembly, hall, united, nations, general, assembly, main, deliberative, policymaking, representative. The United Nations General Assembly Building is part of the headquarters of the United Nations in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City United States It contains the main assembly hall of the United Nations General Assembly the main deliberative policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations UN The building was designed by a group of architects led by Wallace Harrison It is connected to the other buildings in the UN headquarters including the Secretariat Building and the Dag Hammarskjold Library Although the building is physically within the US it is exempt from some local regulations because the site is under UN jurisdiction United Nations General Assembly BuildingView of the General Assembly BuildingGeneral informationTypeAssembly hallArchitectural styleModernLocationInternational territory in Manhattan New York CityCoordinates40 45 00 N 73 58 04 W 40 75000 N 73 96778 W 40 75000 73 96778Current tenantsUnited Nations General AssemblyGroundbreakingSeptember 14 1948 complex Construction startedFebruary 16 1950OpenedOctober 10 1952Renovated1978 1979 2013 2014Governing bodyUnited NationsDimensionsOther dimensions380 by 160 ft 116 by 49 m Technical detailsStructural systemSteel superstructureMaterialPortland limestone facade Floor count5Design and constructionArchitect s United Nations Headquarters Board of Design Wallace Harrison Oscar Niemeyer Le Corbusier etc Main contractorGeorge A Fuller CompanyTurner ConstructionWalsh Construction CompanySlattery Contracting CompanyThe General Assembly Building is a four story structure measuring 380 by 160 ft 116 by 49 m with concave walls to the west and east as well as a concave roof with a dome The building contains a lobby for journalists and the general public to the north as well as a lobby for delegates to the south The central portion of the General Assembly Building is the General Assembly Hall which has a seating capacity of 1 800 and measures 165 ft 50 m long 115 ft 35 m wide and 75 ft 23 m tall Each delegation has six seats in the hall which face south toward a rostrum and a paneled semicircular wall with booths The building also contains other spaces including a delegates lounge and the president of the United Nations General Assembly s offices on the second floor a meditation room on the ground floor and various shops and conference rooms in the basement The design process for the United Nations headquarters formally began in February 1947 The General Assembly Building was the third building to be constructed at the headquarters after the Secretariat and Conference buildings Construction of the General Assembly Building s steelwork began in February 1950 and the building was formally dedicated on October 10 1952 The rapid enlargement of the United Nations prompted the UN to modify the hall s layout several times in the 1960s The General Assembly Hall was closed for renovation from 1978 to 1979 to accommodate additional delegations The building started to deteriorate in the 1980s due to a lack of funding and UN officials considered renovating the complex by the late 1990s but the project was deferred for several years As part of a wide ranging project that began in 2008 the General Assembly Building was renovated from 2013 to 2014 Contents 1 Site 2 Architecture 2 1 Form and facade 2 2 Interior 2 2 1 Lobbies 2 2 2 General Assembly Hall 2 2 2 1 Rostrum 2 2 2 2 Delegates seats 2 2 3 Other first and second story spaces 2 2 4 Basement spaces 3 History 3 1 Development 3 1 1 Planning 3 1 2 Construction 3 2 Opening and early years 3 3 UN expansion 3 4 Renovation and 21st century 4 Critical reception 5 References 5 1 Notes 5 2 Citations 5 3 SourcesSite EditThe General Assembly Building is part of the headquarters of the United Nations in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City 1 It occupies a land lot bounded by First Avenue to the west 42nd Street to the south the East River to the east and 48th Street to the north 1 2 Although it is physically within the United States the underlying land is under the jurisdiction of the United Nations UN 3 The site is technically extraterritorial through a treaty agreement with the US government though it is not a territory governed by the UN 4 5 Most local state and federal laws still apply within the UN headquarters 5 Due to the site s extraterritorial status the headquarters buildings are not New York City designated landmarks since such a designation falls under the purview of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission 6 The General Assembly Building occupies the center of the United Nations site stretching roughly between 44th Street to the south and 45th Street to the north 7 The building is directly connected to the Conference Building housing the Security Council at its southeast and it also indirectly connects with the United Nations Secretariat Building and the Dag Hammarskjold Library to the south 2 8 The Japanese Peace Bell is just south of the building 9 and a grove of sycamore trees is planted to the side 10 On the western part of the site along First Avenue are the flags of the UN its member states and its observer states 11 Outside of the UN headquarters Trump World Tower and the Japan Society are to the northwest and the Millennium Hilton New York One UN Plaza hotel is to the southwest 1 Historically the site was part of a cove called Turtle Bay The cove located between what is now 45th and 48th Streets was fed by a stream that ran from the present day intersection of Second Avenue and 48th Street 12 A creek from the southern end of modern day Central Park also drained into Turtle Bay 13 The first settlement on the site was a tobacco farm built in 1639 14 The site was developed with residences in the 19th century 9 Slaughterhouses operated on the eastern side of First Avenue for over a hundred years until the construction of the United Nations headquarters 14 The UN purchased the site in 1946 under the sole condition that it could never slaughter cattle on the land 15 Architecture EditThe General Assembly Building was designed in the International Style by a team of ten architects working under planning director Wallace K Harrison 16 The Board of Design comprised N D Bassov of the Soviet Union Gaston Brunfaut of Belgium Ernest Cormier of Canada Le Corbusier of France Liang Seu cheng of China Sven Markelius of Sweden Oscar Niemeyer of Brazil Howard Robertson of the United Kingdom G A Soilleux of Australia and Julio Vilamajo of Uruguay 17 18 In addition David Fine of United States Steel oversaw the construction of the General Assembly Building 19 Form and facade Edit nbsp The building as seen from 44th Street with its shallow dome at centerThe five story massing of the General Assembly Building is shaped similarly to a saddle 20 21 The wide western and eastern elevations of the facade curve inward 20 22 23 and measure approximately 380 ft 120 m wide 22 24 The roof of the building also curves inward leading Time magazine to compare the building to a tarpaulin 23 The narrower northern and southern elevations are flat 20 and measure 160 ft 49 m wide 24 There are no windows on First Avenue The original plans for the building called for the facade to be made of marble 21 but the facade was ultimately built of Portland stone from England 21 25 The facade contains about 12 000 cu ft 340 m3 of Portland stone 26 27 There is a double level emergency exit ramp facing First Avenue 25 In contrast to the rectangular Secretariat Building the General Assembly Building has a curving massing even the walls and floors are not perpendicular 25 Le Corbusier who had designed the building s massing had intended for the curving shape to be the visual focal point of the entire headquarters complex 28 The center of the building directly above the General Assembly Hall contains a shallow dome above it 20 23 The building s roof was initially supposed to be an uninterrupted curve but the dome was added after the chief of the United States Mission to the United Nations had suggested it 29 According to one account the inclusion of the dome was intended to convince United States Congress to approve funding for the headquarters more quickly at a time when there was not much funding available for the project 29 30 The doorways to the General Assembly Building are on the southern and northern elevations of the facade 31 32 The south elevation measures about 53 5 ft 16 3 m tall 32 33 it contains glass walls that are recessed within a marble frame and divided by a grid of metal window frames 22 33 34 The north elevation contains vertical marble piers interspersed with photosensitive glass 35 The architects wanted to create a lighting effect commonly seen in cathedrals so they made the glass walls translucent 36 Heating ducts are embedded within these marble piers 37 The Canadian government donated seven nickel and bronze doors which were installed at the main entrances of the building 36 38 Each door measures about 4 ft 1 2 m wide by about 10 ft 3 0 m tall 38 There are four bas relief panels on each door which depict peace justice truth and fraternity 22 38 The southern entrance near 44th Street is used by delegates while the northern entrance between 45th and 46th Street is used by the public 39 Interior Edit The building contains three levels of galleries the delegates use the second level while the public and members of the media use the first and third levels 31 40 The passageways used by journalists and members of the public were physically separated from the passageways used by delegates 41 In keeping with the UN s international character the building s interior is decorated with furniture artwork and other fittings from around the world 42 For example the governments of India and Ecuador donated rugs and carpets 43 while the Thai government donated seats 42 The building also contains artwork donated by the governments of Belgium and Brazil as well as a Foucault pendulum donated by the Netherlands 44 In addition the building contained over 3 000 specimens of plants representing 20 species 45 The interiors retain some of their 1950s era design details such as synchronized office clocks and vintage exit signs 46 Lobbies Edit nbsp Interior of the north lobby with the stepped ramp in the backgroundThe north lobby was designed as the entrance for journalists and members of the public 31 40 47 Three balcony levels are cantilevered over the space 48 The lobby measures 75 ft 23 m high and is topped by a circular skylight measuring about 4 ft 1 2 m across 22 A statue of the ancient Greek god Poseidon donated by the Greek government stands in the middle of the lobby 49 50 The space also contains a scallop shaped information kiosk 51 A stepped ramp leads from the ground level to the first balcony It contained numerous species of plants which were illuminated by concealed spotlights 45 There is a 200 lb 91 kg Foucault pendulum adjacent to the stepped ramp donated by the Dutch government 8 52 The left east wall of the north lobby contains a concourse leading to the south lobby while the right west wall includes a meditation room 22 53 The north lobby also contains passageways to meeting rooms as well as space for exhibits 47 53 The south lobby is the delegates entrance 31 40 47 There is a hospitality room next to the delegates lobby 53 as well as two information desks in that lobby 54 Directly behind the south lobby s glass facade is a set of escalators for delegates 55 On the second floor is a tapestry designed by Belgian artist Peter Colfs entitled Triumph of Peace 56 54 The tapestry depicts numerous allegorical figures on a blue and green background 56 57 Measuring 43 ft 6 in 13 26 m wide and 28 ft 6 in 8 69 m high 54 56 it was the world s largest tapestry when it was completed 58 59 Brazilian painter Candido Portinari also designed War and Peace a pair of murals on the first floor Each mural measures 46 by 34 ft 14 by 10 m 54 60 61 General Assembly Hall Edit General Assembly Hall redirects here Not to be confused with General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland The central feature of the building is the General Assembly Hall which has a seating capacity of 1 800 62 The room is 165 ft 50 m long and 115 ft 35 m wide 63 The hall occupies the second through fourth stories of the building 24 64 During planning the General Assembly Hall was intended to accommodate 850 delegates 350 journalists and 900 members of the public 23 65 a As built the main floor could seat either 636 66 or 750 delegates 67 while the booths and balconies within the hall could accommodate 234 journalists and 800 members of the public 66 67 By 1977 the hall could accommodate 1 060 delegates and alternate delegates 160 journalists 336 members of the public and 542 advisers or guests of delegations 8 Rostrum Edit nbsp United Nations General Assembly hall facing the rostrum nbsp Full view of the hallAt the front south of the chamber is the rostrum containing the green marble desk for the President of the General Assembly the Secretary General and the Under Secretary General for General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services 22 62 68 There is also a podium designed in a similar style 22 62 Behind the rostrum is the UN emblem on a gold background 22 69 which is surrounded by shields measuring 3 ft 0 91 m across 22 The seal was originally surrounded by disc shaped lights but reporters could not take high quality photos and videos of speakers at the rostrum as a result so the lights were covered with gold leaf 68 The south wall of the General Assembly Hall behind the rostrum was originally adorned with the seals of countries that were part of the UN in 1952 55 70 American artist Bruce Gregory created the seals The emblems of the UN s 51 original member states would have been mounted in English alphabetical order while the seals of later additions would have been placed to the sides 71 Of the 60 seals ordered 54 were completed before Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold scrapped the seals in 1955 70 The existing seals were removed in 1956 72 Flanking the rostrum in the southern half of the room is a paneled semi circular wall that tapers as it nears the ceiling and surrounds the front portion of the chamber 64 73 The lower section of the wall is made of a fluted wood possibly mahogany with either brass 22 or copper alloy 30 The wall s upper section is made of acoustic tile 22 The fluted wood walls were intended to improve the hall s acoustics 37 55 The hall is surrounded by two levels of booths for interpreters the media and photographers 22 64 41 These booths are placed within the fluted wood panels 55 there were initially 34 booths in total 65 The booths are arranged in a similar layout to a theater in the round but are enclosed 48 The north balcony of the General Assembly Hall contains a little used double door with a marble doorway and circular handles This door is most often used by high officials and royalty and it leads to a corridor that slopes down steeply to the center of the hall 42 The ceiling above the rostrum is a shallow dome measuring 75 ft 23 m high 64 73 The dome is similar to those in buildings constructed for the US federal government 30 The upper part of the dome is painted in a sky blue color and is plain in design 22 73 Four sets of floodlights surround the dome In addition the top of the dome contains a plaster medallion with a skylight measuring 5 ft 1 5 m across 22 Delegates seats Edit The northern half of the room has a more standard layout with delegates seats on the main floor and a balcony surrounding this level 22 73 Each delegation sits at a desk facing the rostrum 24 Each delegate s desk is fitted with a fixed receiver a microphone control and buttons for electronic voting 8 41 There are also earphones allowing delegates to listen either to the speakers at the rostrum or to interpreters speaking in one of the official languages of the United Nations 8 30 The delegations in the first row are selected randomly each year and the remaining delegations are seated in English alphabetical order following the delegations in the front row 74 75 b The General Assembly Hall was expanded in 1980 when capacity was increased to accommodate the increased membership 62 Each of the delegations has six seats in the hall 74 76 three beige chairs for full delegates and three blue seats for alternate delegates 30 This section contains two murals which were designed by the French artist Fernand Leger and painted by his student Bruce Gregory 77 78 The murals each measure 30 ft 9 1 m high 77 The mural on the left wall is painted in orange gray and white while the mural on the right wall is painted in blue yellow and white 77 79 US president Harry S Truman called the left mural Scrambled Eggs and the right mural Bugs Bunny 79 The murals were presented by the American Association for the United Nations on behalf of an anonymous donor 30 79 Aline B Louchheim characterized Leger s murals as something handsome and said that each of the murals different shapes had vitality 80 The ceiling of the hall lacks decorative finishes 37 and contains recessed lighting 64 Other first and second story spaces Edit On the second floor directly behind the General Assembly Hall is the GA 200 room 53 81 The room which spans either 2 000 or 2 500 sq ft 190 or 230 m2 contains offices for the Secretary General of the United Nations and the President of the United Nations General Assembly 82 83 The space is used for private meetings with the Secretary General and it also contains a press area offices and lounge 81 The wall is decorated with an oil painting by Johannes Kjarval a gift from the Icelandic government 84 In 2005 a group of Swiss firms redecorated the space in a minimalist style The modern design contains walnut wood walls a cream colored carpet sliding partitions and custom furniture 82 83 The offices for the General Assembly President and the Secretary General are placed behind the sliding partitions The room s furniture walls and floor contains the word peace inscribed in the official languages of the United Nations In addition the preamble to the charter of the United Nations is inscribed on the north wall directly behind the rostrum 82 There is a delegates lounge on the south side of the second floor which also connects with the Conference Building along the East River 85 86 In 1961 The New York Times characterized the room as the place where understandings on critical matters are often prearranged 87 The north wall of the delegates lounge facing the East River is made of glass 86 87 88 The lounge contained modern style furniture such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe s Barcelona chairs and Florence Knoll s club chairs 89 and the plants in the room were selected based on whether they could survive wind drafts and tobacco smoke 45 The lounge originally measured 23 ft 7 0 m high a mezzanine was added above the lounge in the 1970s but the mezzanine was removed in 2013 following a renovation designed by Rem Koolhaas and several Dutch designers The modern lounge contains a resin bar and information desk as well as a digital bulletin board to the west 88 Next to the delegates lounge is the East Foyer which connects directly to the south lobby and the Indonesian Lounge 53 54 The Kiswa of the Holy Kaaba a gift from the government of Saudi Arabia 90 is hung in the Indonesian Lounge 91 The meditation room next to the north lobby can accommodate about 30 people 22 When the meditation room opened in 1952 it was centered around a 250 year old African mahogany stump 92 This was replaced in 1957 with a piece of Swedish iron ore measuring 6 5 short tons 5 8 long tons 5 9 t 93 94 donated by the King of Sweden and the Government of Sweden 95 The meditation room also contained a fresco by Swedish artist Bo Beskow which was dedicated in 1957 95 96 The meditation room was closed in the 1980s due to vandalism though it was reopened in 1998 94 The first story of the General Assembly Building also contains silk rug portraits of all Secretaries General of the United Nations which were donated by Iran in 1997 97 98 Basement spaces Edit There is a large conference room and eight smaller conference rooms originally four 8 99 in the basement beneath the General Assembly Hall 53 The large room can fit about 60 people while the smaller rooms can fit 40 people each 99 One of the conference rooms is decorated with wood paneling donated by the British government 99 100 101 each panel depicts an animal bird or flower in the United Kingdom 100 That room which has 33 seats is officially labeled as Conference Room 8 but is nicknamed the United Kingdom Room 101 The governments of Australia and New Zealand also donated wood paneling for the conference rooms 43 The basement also has television and radio studios a sound recording studio and a master control room for the United Nations headquarters communication system 8 The main TV studio known as Studio H is used for both live broadcasts and taped messages 102 there are also five radio studios 103 In addition the basement has several facilities for visitors including a coffee shop gift shop stamp sales counter souvenir shop and bookstore 8 53 The United Nations Public Inquiries Unit is also housed in the basement 104 History EditDevelopment Edit Real estate developer William Zeckendorf purchased a site on First Avenue in 1946 intending to create a development called X City but he could not secure funding for the development 105 106 107 At the time the UN was operating out of a temporary headquarters in Lake Success New York 108 although it wished to build a permanent headquarters in the US 109 Several cities competed to host the UN headquarters before New York City was selected 109 110 John D Rockefeller Jr paid US 8 5 million for an option on the X City site 109 111 and he donated it to the UN in December 1946 111 112 113 The UN accepted this donation despite the objections of several prominent architects such as Le Corbusier 111 112 The UN hired planning director Wallace Harrison of the firm Harrison amp Abramovitz to lead the headquarters design 111 He was assisted by a Board of Design composed of ten architects 62 17 18 Planning Edit nbsp The 2nd Secretary General of the United Nations Dag Hammarskjold in front of the General Assembly Building with the Secretariat Building in the backgroundThe design process for the United Nations headquarters formally began in February 1947 114 115 116 Each architect on the Board of Design devised his own plan for the site and some architects created several schemes 18 117 All the plans had to include at least three buildings one each for the General Assembly the Secretariat and conference rooms 18 118 The plans had to comply with several basic principles For instance the General Assembly Building was to be built on the northern end of the site opposite the Secretariat Building on the south end 119 By March 1947 the architects had devised preliminary sketches for the headquarters 119 120 The same month the Board of Design published two alternative designs for a five building complex anchored by the Secretariat Building to the south and a pair of 35 story buildings to the north 120 121 122 After much discussion Harrison decided to select a design based on the proposals of two board members Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier 123 17 124 Even though the design process was a collaborative effort 117 124 Le Corbusier took all the credit saying the buildings were 100 the architecture and urbanism of Le Corbusier 120 The Board of Design presented their final plans for the United Nations headquarters in May 1947 The plans called for a 45 story Secretariat tower at the south end of the site a 30 story office building at the north end and several low rise structures including the General Assembly Building in between 125 126 The committee unanimously agreed on this plan 118 In the original plan the massing of the General Assembly Building had resembled a giant fan 117 127 The project was facing delays by mid 1947 when a slaughterhouse operator on the site requested that it be allowed to stay for several months 15 128 The complex was originally planned to cost US 85 million 129 130 Demolition of the site started in July 1947 131 132 The same month UN Secretary General Trygve Lie and the architects began discussing ways to reduce construction costs by downsizing the headquarters 130 The General Assembly voted to approve the design for the headquarters in November 1947 24 132 By the following month the architects were revising plans for the General Assembly Building though the rest of the complex was to remain unchanged The revised plan called for a wedge shaped structure with blank walls 127 There would have been two auditoriums which would have faced each other in an hourglass shaped arrangement with straight western and eastern walls The architects eliminated one of the auditoriums to reduce construction costs but the hourglass shaped layout of the building was retained albeit with curved side walls 133 Construction Edit In April 1948 US president Truman requested that the United States Congress approve an interest free loan of US 65 million to fund construction 134 135 Because Congress did not approve the loan for several months there was uncertainty over whether the project would proceed 132 136 Congress authorized the loan in August 1948 of which US 25 million was made available immediately from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation 137 138 Lie predicted the US 25 million advance would only be sufficient to pay for the Secretariat Building s construction thus delaying the completion of the other buildings 139 The groundbreaking ceremony for the initial buildings occurred on September 14 1948 when work on the Secretariat Building commenced 132 140 The General Assembly Building would be the third and final major structure in the complex to be completed with a projected opening date of late 1951 141 Fuller Turner Walsh Slattery Inc a joint venture between the George A Fuller Company Turner Construction the Walsh Construction Company and the Slattery Contracting Company was selected in December 1948 to construct the Secretariat Building and the foundations for the remaining buildings 142 143 The site had been excavated by February 1949 144 145 The project was delayed later that year due to a labor strike by steelworkers 146 147 That December the UN awarded a steel contract for the building to the American Bridge Company By then the structure was scheduled to be completed in 1952 148 149 The contract as finalized in March 1950 called for 10 000 short tons 8 900 long tons 9 100 t of steel at a cost of US 1 7 million 150 151 In response to criticism that the general contracts for the construction of the UN headquarters had been awarded exclusively to American firms UN officials indicated that they might hire foreign firms to supply materials for the General Assembly Building 152 That July the UN awarded a US 11 million contract to Fuller Turner Walsh Slattery Inc for the construction of the General Assembly Building as well as the northern half of the UN headquarters parking lot directly under the building 153 154 At the time the hall was slated to be completed in time for the sixth session of the General Assembly in 1952 154 Construction of the building s steelwork began on February 16 1951 at which point the basement garage was nearly completed 155 By that April workers were rapidly erecting the steelwork for the General Assembly Building 156 There were significant delays in importing the Portland stone and only one fourth of the total stonework had been delivered by May 1951 This led officials to express concern that the building would not be able to host the General Assembly in 1952 26 27 In addition the American Bridge Company said there were difficulties in constructing the steel structure for the dome 27 All of the stonework had arrived by August 1951 157 The building was nearly complete by May 1952 when the delegations voted to delay the start of the General Assembly session by one month allowing workers to install electrical equipment and furnish the interior 158 The General Assembly Building hosted an architectural exhibition of the United Nations headquarters in June 1952 prior to the building s official opening 159 Opening and early years Edit nbsp Seen from the northern end of the building with the Secretariat Building in the backgroundThe building was formally dedicated on October 10 1952 when Secretary General Trygve Lie presided over a ceremony there 160 161 The event marked the completion of the United Nations headquarters which had cost US 68 million to construct about US 3 million over the original budget 161 The first General Assembly session in the building commenced four days later on October 14 161 Former US first lady Eleanor Roosevelt dedicated a gift shop in the General Assembly Building s basement the same day 43 The General Assembly Hall could fit 90 delegations more than enough to accommodate all 60 UN members at the time of the building s completion The New York Times wrote in 1954 It is taken for granted here that there will continue to be a considerable amount of waste space in the hall for some time to come 162 The American Association for the United Nations started conducting guided public tours of the headquarters when the General Assembly Building was completed 163 164 The guided tours were highly popular attracting 250 000 guests during six months in 1953 165 UN officials installed a temporary meditation room next to the north lobby in late 1952 92 although a lack of funds prevented the installation of a permanent room 166 The UN built a security checkpoint next to the north lobby in February 1953 167 and Columbia University Press began operating the bookshop in the building s basement later that year 168 Under the tenure of Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold the General Assembly Building also began hosting concerts on United Nations Day and other special occasions 169 the first such concert took place on United Nations Day in 1954 170 The UN dedicated Peter Colfs s Triumph of Peace tapestry at the building that October 58 59 A coffee shop in the basement opened in August 1954 as part of a US 380 000 renovation of the basement 171 and the seals in the Assembly Hall s rostrum were removed that year 72 The meditation room next to the north lobby was remodeled in February 1957 172 and Candido Portinari s War and Peace murals were dedicated at the building that September 60 UN expansion Edit By 1957 the UN had 82 member states and was expanding rapidly UN officials planned to replace portions of the observers seating areas with seats for delegates 173 At the 1960 meeting of the General Assembly Hammarskjold had proposed a wide ranging renovation program costing US 7 7 million but this was not executed due to a lack of funds 174 Instead the UN commenced a smaller renovation of the General Assembly Hall and the adjacent Conference Building in June 1960 175 176 which was estimated to cost US 100 000 175 The UN removed over 100 observers seats and installed desks for six additional delegations The work was completed in August 1961 177 The same year Abstract Sculpture by American artist Ezio Martinelli 178 was mounted on the eastern elevation of the building s facade 179 Prior to the 1962 General Assembly session the UN reduced the size of the journalists galleries so the hall could accommodate 108 delegations 179 Even so there was so little space that some delegates had to sit in the journalists seating area during the 1962 meeting 180 181 The UN s planners had concluded that the headquarters could not fit additional delegations without undergoing significant renovations To fit the new delegations Secretary General U Thant proposed either moving the journalists seating areas or reducing each delegation to five seats 182 In late 1962 the General Assembly s budgetary committee approved plans to install microphones for delegates and to expand the hall s seating capacity to accommodate 126 delegations though the committee rejected a more expensive proposal to expand the headquarters 180 Following complaints that the hall s cramped layout made it difficult to conduct roll call votes 183 the General Assembly started testing an electronic voting system in 1964 184 The UN also renovated the hall for US 3 million the same year The work included reducing the number of seats for each delegation from 10 to 6 relocating the journalists seating areas to make way for delegates seating and dividing part of the basement to create a TV studio and additional office space 185 nbsp South lobby of the General Assembly BuildingThe UN continued to expand through the 1970s further straining its physical facilities 186 By 1977 the General Assembly was considering expanding the Assembly Hall to accommodate up to 178 delegations 187 A bronze bust of the composer Pablo Casals who had performed at the General Assembly Hall twice was dedicated in the north lobby the same year 188 The Fuller Company began expanding the General Assembly Hall in January 1978 as part of a US 26 million renovation of the entire complex designed by Harrison amp Abramovitz Workers installed new wiring under the concrete floors and the UN hired a Canadian company to refurbish the delegates chairs since the manufacturer of the original chairs no longer existed The first phase of the renovation was completed in September 1979 prior to the opening of the General Assembly session The expanded hall could fit up to 182 delegations 189 The renovation project as a whole was completed by 1981 190 191 All nations were given six General Assembly seats regardless of how large their delegations were 74 76 Some of the smaller delegations had as few as one member and always left several seats empty while other delegations had to alternate their seats between dozens of members 74 Smoking was initially allowed in the entire complex but the General Assembly banned smoking in some of the building s smaller rooms in 1983 At the time people were still allowed to smoke within the General Assembly Hall and in private offices 192 The General Assembly typically only met between September and December but the UN continued to host tours of the hall throughout the year In addition the delegates cafeteria and the basement shops were open to tourists 193 Renovation and 21st century Edit Due to funding shortfalls in the 1980s the UN diverted funding from its headquarters maintenance fund to peacekeeping missions and other activities 194 By 1998 the building had become technologically dated and UN officials considered renovating the headquarters 195 The mechanical systems were so outdated that the UN had to manufacture its own replacement parts 196 197 The New York Times wrote that if the United Nations had to abide by city building regulations it might well be shuttered 194 198 At the time the UN had proposed renovating the building for US 800 million as UN officials had concluded that the long term cost of renovations would be cheaper than doing nothing The UN s proposed budget for 1999 included US 22 million for fixing the roofs of the General Assembly Building and other structures in the UN complex 194 The UN commissioned a report from engineering firm Ove Arup amp Partners which published its findings in 2000 199 The report recommended renovating the UN headquarters over a six year period including the General Assembly Hall 6 199 200 The UN could not secure funding for the project at the time 199 After Switzerland joined the UN in 2002 the Swiss government renovated the GA 200 room behind the General Assembly Hall s rostrum which was rededicated in 2005 82 83 In addition Ranan Lurie s mural Uniting Painting was temporarily installed in the north lobby in 2005 marking the first time that the UN allowed a large scale independent art installation at its headquarters 201 The UN decided to renovate its existing structures over a seven year period for US 1 6 billion 202 Louis Frederick Reuter IV originally designed the renovation but he resigned in 2006 following various disputes between UN and US officials Michael Adlerstein was hired as the new project architect 196 Engineering firm Skanska was hired to renovate the Secretariat Conference and General Assembly buildings in July 2007 203 204 At that point the cost of the project had risen to US 1 9 billion 196 204 The renovation of the United Nations headquarters formally began in 2008 though other buildings were renovated first 205 the same year the General Assembly banned smoking in the remainder of the General Assembly Building 206 The complex was retrofitted with various green building features as part of the project 29 The General Assembly Building was closed for renovations on May 31 2013 207 During the project the General Assembly met at a temporary building on the UN headquarters North Lawn 208 Audio speakers were installed in place of the hall s former ashtrays which had become obsolete 206 The project also included cleaning the walls as well as removing asbestos fireproofing and mercury from the hall 206 Workers installed an air conditioning system under the General Assembly Hall s floor and added monitors to the desks 209 The murals by Fernand Leger were also restored 78 An ivory sculpture in the north lobby a gift from the Chinese government was also removed 206 When the building reopened in September 2014 it was the last structure in the UN headquarters to have been upgraded to New York City building codes 206 Critical reception EditWhen the building was completed in 1952 Architectural Forum wrote that the new Assembly Hall is almost as different as possible from the expectation raised by its chaste marble shell 210 According to Architectural Forum the design of the building marked an architectural shift from emphasis on function and structural logic to emphasis on form and the logic of art 23 The New York Herald Tribune wrote that the roof provides a dramatic foil to the headquarters rigorous lines 211 Life magazine characterized the building as having a clifflike front of marble and glass along with pinch waisted walls 212 while the South China Morning Post said the building had been likened to a modern motion picture palace 2 Architectural Forum spoke in support of the design saying it had arisen from a different temper and a different approach from some of the best known modern masters 73 213 Many commentators were highly critical of the design 73 214 Architectural Forum wrote Only a handful of the critics seemed willing to recognize that perhaps Harrison a man of many notable accomplishments might have had some good reason for deviating so far from canons of contemporary architecture 214 George Howe of the Yale School of Architecture disagreed with Architectural Forum s characterization of the building as popular baroque saying I should prefer a more analytical adjective One might call this interior for example the legislative phase of modern architecture 21 214 Pietro Belluschi of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning was even more direct in his disapproval saying If this is the fruit of 50 years trial and error in architectural thinking there is reason to be discouraged 21 214 Architectural Forum also interviewed Robert Woods Kennedy a younger architect who called it eclecticism turned modern 21 214 and Landis Gores a modernist who said the ineptness apparent everywhere in the Assembly Building cannot be excused by a counteroffensive against architectural principle 215 One of the few supporters of the design was Nathaniel A Owings of the architectural firm Skidmore Owings amp Merrill who said it was a very interesting and successful building with nothing about it that wasn t a logical development of a reasonable research program 216 Some of the criticism arose from the fact that the building s massing did not necessarily reflect its function contrasting with the views of many modern architects 48 Architectural critic Lewis Mumford said that one could forgive all the architectural lapses in the complex when they viewed the buildings from the north 21 217 Mumford likened the billowing forms of the north lobby s parapets to drawings by German architect Erich Mendelsohn 21 217 British journalist Alistair Cooke wrote for The Manchester Guardian that the dome looks as if it had keeled over in a bog of cement that had failed to harden 67 The modernist architect Paul Rudolph said the building is not really a product of the International Style but rather a background for a grade B movie about one world with Rita Hayworth dancing up the main ramp 21 48 Rudolph also criticized the fact that the building s exterior did not at all resemble its interior 73 35 The General Assembly Building and its connected structures have been depicted in numerous films such as The Glass Wall 1953 and North by Northwest 1959 218 The 2005 film The Interpreter was the first to actually be filmed inside the headquarters 219 220 During the filming of The Interpreter in 2004 The New York Times wrote that the building was not an instant hit with the architectural community when it opened in 1952 and it is interesting in light of this latest chapter in its history to see how its detractors chose to put it down 221 References EditNotes Edit According to Progressive Architecture the building had to accommodate 800 diplomats 80 nations with 5 delegates and 5 advisors each 300 observers 320 journalists and 1 000 members of the public 41 For example in 1952 the Soviet Union seated under the name USSR United Kingdom and United States were seated in the front The next countries alphabetically were Uruguay Venezuela and Yugoslavia which were seated in the second row Since Yugoslavia was the last country alphabetically 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Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 30 2022 a b Architectural Forum 1950 p 101 a b U N Assembly Building Here Nearly Ready Will Permit Thousands to Hear Debate Daily at Its Meeting Next Month New York Herald Tribune September 5 1952 p 17 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1322263324 a b c Cooke Alistair October 14 1952 Dome of Depression in New York No Stately Pleasure for U N The Manchester Guardian p 1 ProQuest 479479463 a b Betsky amp Murphy 2005 p 44 The General Assembly United Nations Archived from the original on March 19 2011 Retrieved November 26 2010 a b U N Shelves Plan to Adorn Its Hall Artistic and Political Reasons Bar Use of State Seals The New York Times January 11 1955 Archived from the original on December 29 2018 Retrieved December 29 2018 Teltsch Kathleen April 30 1953 U S Painter Does U N Coats of arms Bruce Gregory Collects Much Odd Information in Work on Assembly Hall Seals The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 a b U N s Emblem Alone Faces the Assembly Hall The New York Times September 15 1956 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 a b c d e f g Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 625 a b c d Brooks Geraldine September 20 1993 It s U N Protocol Six Chairs No Office For Tajikistan s Man Squeezing in New Dignitaries Causes Host of Indignities My Country Tis of The The Wall Street Journal p A1 ISSN 0099 9660 ProQuest 746858140 a b Soviet Gets First Seat Draw at U N Gives It Position in Assembly Hall The New York Times September 24 1952 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 a b Boffey Philip M June 17 1982 Session on Disarmament Has Delegates in a Dither The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 2 2022 Retrieved August 1 2022 a b c Rosenthal A M August 29 1952 Abstract Murals Are Being Painted With Secrecy in U N Assembly Hall The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 30 2022 a b Binlot Ann August 26 2014 Touching Up the Legers U N To Reopen with Murals Restored Observer Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 30 2022 a b c Mural East Wall Scrambled Eggs United Nations Gifts December 31 1952 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 Louchheim Aline B September 7 1952 New Art at the U N Leger s Abstract Panels Near Completion The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 a b Betsky amp Murphy 2005 p 52 a b c d Bernstein Fred A May 2005 Neutral zone Interior Design Vol 76 no 7 pp 248 249 ProQuest 234947619 a b c Yang Andrew February 1 2005 The Chill Room Metropolis Archived from the original on August 2 2022 Retrieved August 2 2022 Betsky amp Murphy 2005 p 54 Architectural Forum 1950 pp 98 99 a b Betsky amp Murphy 2005 p 70 a b Brewer Sam Pope October 21 1961 Back Room at the U N Delegates Lounge Provides Privacy For Quiet Talks on Explosive Issues The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 2 2022 Retrieved August 1 2022 a b Webb Michael November 2013 U N North Delegates Lounge Contract Vol 54 no 9 pp 38 41 ProQuest 1460536302 Betsky amp Murphy 2005 p 71 Blair William G March 13 1983 U N Art Collection Like the U N Keeps Growing The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 28 2022 Retrieved August 2 2022 Unveiling of the Kiswa of the Holy Kaaba United Nations Photo August 2 2022 Archived from the original on August 3 2021 Retrieved August 2 2022 a b Meditation Room Limns Faith in U N Haven for Prayer Built With Aid of Public Contributions Serves All Creeds The New York Times November 2 1952 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 Hornaday Mary December 3 1956 Remodeled Meditation Room An Intimate Message From New York The Christian Science Monitor p 22 ProQuest 509531764 a b Schneider Daniel B October 4 1998 F Y I The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on September 19 2018 Retrieved August 1 2022 a b Cherif Mary Leroy Nathalie Banchieri Anna Silva Armando Da DAG HAMMARSKJOLD The UN years Welcome to the United Nations Archived from the original on June 19 2022 Retrieved August 3 2022 U N Chamber Gets Swedish Mural The New York Times November 11 1957 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 2 2022 Retrieved August 1 2022 Betsky amp Murphy 2005 p 120 Silk Portraits of the Secretary General United Nations Gifts October 28 1997 Retrieved April 6 2023 a b c U N Assembly Building Getting Final Touches Ready Sept 15 Building Construction at U N Headquarters Nearing Completion New York Herald Tribune July 5 1952 p 9 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1324027287 a b Life 1952 p 118 a b Betsky amp Murphy 2005 p 98 Betsky amp Murphy 2005 p 64 Betsky amp Murphy 2005 p 66 Sandberg Jared March 26 2003 Cubicle Front Lines U N Staffers Listen To an Agitated Public The Wall Street Journal p B1 ISSN 0099 9660 ProQuest 398972609 Boland Ed Jr June 8 2003 F Y I The New York Times Archived from the original on July 23 2012 Retrieved July 9 2010 Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 606 Betsky amp Murphy 2005 p 12 Rosenthal A M May 19 1951 U N Vacates Site at Lake Success Peace Building Back to War Output The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 26 2022 Retrieved July 26 2022 a b c Progressive Architecture 1950 p 58 Adlerstein 2015 p 371 a b c d Betsky amp Murphy 2005 p 13 a b Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 607 Rockefellers Hail Zeckendorf s Role Praises Real Estate Executive as Well as O Dwyer Moses for Aiding Deal on U N Site The New York Times December 18 1946 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 25 2022 Retrieved July 25 2022 Architects Nominated To U N Design Board PDF Architectural Record Vol 110 March 1947 p 14 Archived PDF from the original on July 25 2022 Retrieved August 2 2022 The U N Plans for Its New Headquarters in Manhattan New York Herald Tribune February 26 1947 p 1 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1291212043 40 Story Building to be U N Center Skyscraper to Be Finished by October 1948 Under Fastest of 3 Construction Plans The New York Times February 26 1947 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 25 2022 Retrieved July 25 2022 a b c Iglauer 1947 p 563 a b Betsky amp Murphy 2005 p 14 a b Hamilton Thomas J March 24 1947 Buildings Plotted in U N Site Here Tentative Plan Puts 40 story Secretariat at South End Monumental Plaza Provided The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 25 2022 Retrieved July 25 2022 a b c Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 612 Barrett George March 27 1947 3 Tall Buildings in U N Plan For a Mechanized Capital United Nations Capital Begins to Take Shape in Imagination of Designers The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 25 2022 Retrieved July 25 2022 Donovan Robert J March 27 1947 U N Planning To Put Up Two More Buildings 35 Story Structures Near 48th St Would Be for Offices Special Agencies New York Herald Tribune p 4A ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1291188571 Betsky amp Murphy 2005 p 15 a b Adlerstein 2015 pp 371 372 Yerxa Fendall May 22 1947 Design of U N Workshop for Peace Revealed Two Buildings 45 and 30 Stories Being Planned City Will Beautify Area City Plans to Improve Area Around United Nations Site New York Herald Tribune p 1 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1318024597 Barrett George May 22 1947 U N Capital Plans Stress Function Final Sketches Are Revealed Workshops for Peace Aim of the Ten Designers The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 25 2022 Retrieved July 25 2022 a b Barrett George December 7 1947 U N Experts Plan Building Changes Work on Design to Set Off Assembly Hall in Manhattan as Symbol of Cooperation The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 30 2022 Retrieved July 30 2022 Barrett George June 15 1947 Occupant of Site Delays U N Start Swift Subsidiary Fails to Get Out of East River Area Seeks Further Leeway The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 26 2022 Retrieved July 25 2022 Churchill 1952 p 111 a b U N Capital Cost to Be Cut Deeply 2 000 000 to 10 000 000 Trim in Headquarters Outlay Is Requested by Lie The New York Times July 4 1947 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 25 2022 Retrieved July 25 2022 U N Site Clearing Begun by O Dwyer Mayor Byron Price and Rogers Start the Demolition Work on East River The New York Times July 9 1947 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 25 2022 Retrieved July 25 2022 a b c d Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 617 Architectural Forum 1950 pp 97 99 Truman Asks Loan for U n Buildings PDF The New York Times April 8 1948 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved December 20 2017 3 000 000 Cut In U N Plan for Site Is Advised Tower and Garage Would Be Reduced Cost Figure to Stay at 65 000 000 New York Herald Tribune April 1 1948 p 13 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1327415157 Barrett George June 21 1948 U N Officials Dismayed The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 26 2022 Retrieved July 26 2022 House Passes Bill for U N Site Loan Vote Is 164 to 27 Home for Stalin s Agents Foe Says Joy at Lake Success PDF The New York Times August 6 1948 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved December 20 2017 Ingalls Leonard August 6 1948 House Passes 65 Million U N Building Loan Measure Is Sent to Truman Ohioan Denounces U N as Haven for Red Spies New York Herald Tribune p 1 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1327421149 Barrett George June 13 1948 U N Forced to Plan Building Cuts By Congressional Delay on Loan The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 26 2022 Retrieved July 25 2022 U N Breaks Ground for Its Capital O Dwyer Welcomes Plan for Peace PDF The New York Times September 15 1948 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved December 20 2017 Barrett George June 20 1949 U N to Make 2 250 000 Steel Contract Soon To Start Second Unit of East River Project The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 30 2022 Retrieved July 30 2022 4 Companies Join Forces To Construct U N s Home PDF The New York Times December 19 1948 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved December 20 2017 4 Companies Get Joint Contract For 24 000 000 U N Building 39 Story Secretariat Structure To Be Started Next Month Be Ready for Use in Fall of 1950 Bid Includes Foundations for All Buildings New York Herald Tribune December 19 1948 p 1 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1324181379 The U N Yesterday Excavation Work at U N Site Completed Ahead of Schedule Israel Renews Membership Bid New York Herald Tribune February 25 1949 p 4 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1326781947 U N Headquarters Excavation Operations Completed Ahead of Schedule New York Feb 25 South China Morning Post February 27 1949 p 10 ProQuest 1766496108 Pett Saul October 23 1949 U N Lops Off Extras Like Any Builder The Washington Post p B9 ISSN 0190 8286 ProQuest 152137673 U N Fears Steel Strike May Delay Building Here The New York Times October 3 1949 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 26 2022 Retrieved July 30 2022 U N Yesterday 51 Arab Refugees Return to Israeli Palestine Contract for Steel for Assembly Building Let New York Herald Tribune December 23 1949 p 6 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1327396068 Hamilton Thomas J December 23 1949 U N Steel Supply for Assembly Set But Building Will Not Be Ready for 51 Session Delay Seen in Transfer to Manhattan The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 30 2022 Retrieved July 30 2022 U N Yesterday Assembly Building Steel Contract Is Signed Poland Helps Work on Welfare Agenda New York Herald Tribune March 29 1950 p 10 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1327399175 U N Steel Contract Signed The New York Times March 29 1950 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 30 2022 Retrieved July 30 2022 U N Will Ask World for Furniture Bids 37 Nations May Yield Skyscraper Proposals The New York Times March 2 1950 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 30 2022 Retrieved July 30 2022 U N Yesterday 11 000 000 Contract for Assembly Building Signed 9 Nations Report on Prostitution New York Herald Tribune July 1 1950 p 4 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1327265060 a b Barrett George July 1 1950 Norway Makes Bid to Equip U N Room Offer to Decorate and Furnish Security Council Chamber Is Accepted Informally The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 30 2022 Retrieved July 30 2022 Work is Under Way on Final U N Building The New York Times February 16 1951 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 30 2022 Lie Agrees to Have Playground at U N Area at Corner of East River Headquarters Will Be Set Aside for Children The New York Times April 7 1951 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 27 2017 Retrieved July 30 2022 Stone for U N Arrives Delayed Shipments Come From Britain for Assembly Unit The New York Times August 11 1951 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 30 2022 Hamilton Thomas J May 30 1952 U N Assembly Here Due to Open Oct 14 Postponement From Sept 16 Is Held Certain Barring Any Unexpected Korea Action The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 U N Display Opening Photographs Building Models Will Be Shown Today The New York Times June 19 1952 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 U N General Assembly Building in Use for First Time New York Herald Tribune October 10 1952 p 1 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1320035778 a b c Teltsch Kathleen October 15 1952 U N Housewarming is Shining Success New Permanent Headquarters Wins Warm Tribute From Delegates and Guests The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 Rosenthal A M October 10 1954 Plans for New U N Members Run Into Same Old Snags Assembly Will Consider Case of the Outs But Prospect for Admission Is Bleak The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 Guided Tours of U N Arranged The New York Times May 11 1952 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 Limits Placed on Visitors at U N Palace The Washington Post June 14 1952 p 13 ISSN 0190 8286 ProQuest 152483911 Rosenthal A M August 30 1953 One World Wonder The U N Headquarters here has become a startling magnet for tourists The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 Fund Lack Blocks U N Prayer Room Permanent Chamber Is Put Off but New Assembly Building Will Have Temporary One The New York Times September 12 1952 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 Rosenthal A M February 27 1953 U N Buys an X Ray Machine to Search for Bombs Security Forces Build Outside Guardroom to Check Parcels The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 U N Shifts Bookshop Columbia University Press to Run Headquarters Facility The New York Times July 31 1953 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 Hammarskjold Greatly Extended U N s Scope Through Leadership and Personal Initiatives Moscow Sought to Oust Him He Got Ovation When He Declined to Leave Post The New York Times September 19 1961 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 2 2022 Retrieved August 2 2022 McLaughlin Kathleen October 25 1954 9th U N Birthday Widely Observed Leaders Attend Celebration Here World Body s Aims Praised in Many Nationslanguage en US The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 U N Gets Coffee Shop Restaurant for Tourists Open Today in Assembly Basement The New York Times August 6 1956 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 U N Meditation Room Ready The New York Times February 5 1957 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 James Michael October 3 1957 Home of the U N Bulges at Seams 82 Delegations Tax Facilities in East River Buildings Alterations Planned The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 Hamilton Thomas J May 7 1962 Crowded U N Seeks More Office Space The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 30 2018 Retrieved August 1 2022 a b Feron James June 5 1960 U N Is Providing for New States Begin 100 000 Renovation Program to Accommodate Ten More Members The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 2 2022 Retrieved August 1 2022 U N Outgrowing Its Quarters The Hartford Courant June 27 1960 p 2 ProQuest 564476747 Assembly Adds Seats More U N Accommodations Provided for Delegates The New York Times August 21 1961 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved July 31 2022 Abstract Sculpture United Nations Gifts October 30 1961 Archived from the original on August 8 2022 Retrieved August 10 2022 a b Sculpture Presented to U N The New York Times October 31 1961 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 2 2022 Retrieved August 1 2022 a b O Kane Lawrence November 18 1962 U N Cry Goes Up for Elbowroom Rapid Rise in Membership Is Taxing Facilities Growth Exceeded Expectation The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 2 2022 Retrieved August 1 2022 Fleming Louis B September 4 1962 Too Close for Comfort at U N Headquarters World Organization Will Need Some More Buildings if It Continues to Grow Los Angeles Times p 21 ProQuest 168169565 Hamilton Thomas J August 20 1962 U N Will Expand Space in Building 10 000 000 Program Due to be Submitted by Thant The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 2 2022 Retrieved August 1 2022 Ronan Thomas P November 20 1963 Thant Seeks 11 Million to Expand U N Facilities The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 2 2022 Retrieved August 1 2022 U N Assembly Is Trying Push Button Balloting The New York Times December 1 1964 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 2 2022 Retrieved August 1 2022 U N Building Undergoing 3 Million Remodeling Job The Central New Jersey Home News January 10 1964 p 7 Archived from the original on August 2 2022 Retrieved August 1 2022 Shannon Don August 29 1973 U N Membership Bulges As Mini States Multiply The Austin Statesman p 36 ProQuest 1504131258 Assembly Approves Plan to Transfer Some Offices from New York to Vienna UN Chronicle Vol 14 no 1 January 1977 pp 77 78 ProQuest 1824643104 A bronze bust honouring the late maestro Pablo Casals musician and world citizen was dedicated by the Secretary General Kurt Waldheim at a ceremony held on 11 March in the visitors lobby of the General Assembly building UN Chronicle Vol 14 no 4 April 1977 p 58 ProQuest 1824643473 Rogg Penny November 4 1979 Growing U N Expands The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 2 2022 Retrieved August 1 2022 Nossiter Bernard D June 7 1981 UNICEF Going Against Trend Plans Big Expansion Notes on the U N The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 28 2022 Retrieved July 28 2022 Stern Fishman amp Tilove 2006 p 414 Heller Susan Anderson Dunlap David W August 27 1985 New York Day by Day U N Will Lose Some Smoke filled Rooms The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 2 2022 Retrieved August 2 2022 Meisler Stanley June 13 1993 U N Now a Hot Spot Even for Visitors Sun Sentinel p 4J ProQuest 388797584 a b c Wren Christopher S October 24 1999 International Symbol of Neglect U N Building Unimproved in 50 Years Shows Its Age The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 28 2022 Retrieved July 28 2022 Adlerstein 2015 p 374 a b c Hoge Warren November 28 2007 After 10 Years and 3 Plans U N Renovation Is in Sight The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on November 30 2012 Retrieved July 28 2022 Freedman Alix M Spindle Bill December 19 2003 The U N Searching for Relevance Rescue Mission Now at the Top Of U N s Agenda How to Save Itself New Threats Like Terrorism Spark a Broad Rethinking Spread Out or Scale Back Kofi Annan Fork in the Road The Wall Street Journal p A 1 ISSN 0099 9660 ProQuest 398857148 Stern Fishman amp Tilove 2006 pp 414 415 a b c Stern Fishman amp Tilove 2006 p 415 Associated Press July 23 2000 U N Wants Renovations for Headquarters Orlando Sentinel p A19 ProQuest 279470869 Schneider Daniel B November 3 2005 United Nations Opens Door to Painting Planned to Unite World The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 2 2022 Retrieved August 2 2022 Hoge Warren April 18 2006 Renovation of U N Complex Stalled by U S an Official Says The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 28 2022 Retrieved July 28 2022 A 1B facelift for UN complex Newsday July 28 2007 p 7 Archived from the original on July 28 2022 Retrieved July 28 2022 via newspapers com a b Quirk James August 19 2007 Think big aim big Parsippany firm parlayed experience with major projects to land U N renovation job The Record p B01 ProQuest 426444158 Worsnip Patrick May 5 2008 U N headquarters renovation launched in New York Reuters Archived from the original on July 28 2022 Retrieved July 28 2022 a b c d e Sengupta Somini September 24 2014 A Safer Cleaner United Nations Hall The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on January 5 2017 Retrieved August 2 2022 Photo The newly renovated General Assembly Hall at the United Nations UPI September 17 2014 Retrieved August 2 2022 Dunlap David W January 6 2016 Retiring a U N Building Not Quite Fit for the World Stage The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 22 2017 Retrieved August 2 2022 Parent Marie Joelle August 29 2010 Under Construction New York headquarters of United Nations set for a much needed 2B facelift The Toronto Sun p 22 ProQuest 2223031704 Architectural Forum 1952 p 141 Stone Steel and Hope New York Herald Tribune May 21 1952 p 22 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1324198965 Life 1952 p 114 Architectural Forum 1952 pp 147 148 a b c d e Architectural Forum 1952b p 114 Window Leaks Overcome PDF Architectural Forum Vol 98 March 1953 p 88 Archived PDF from the original on August 5 2020 Retrieved August 3 2022 Architectural Forum 1952 p 148 a b Mumford Lewis March 14 1953 The Sky Line United Nations Assembly The New Yorker Vol 29 pp 76 79 Archived from the original on July 31 2022 Retrieved August 2 2022 Betsky amp Murphy 2005 p 25 James Caryn April 28 2005 A Thriller Stars the U N as Itself The New 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New York 2000 Architecture and Urbanism Between the Bicentennial and the Millennium New York Monacelli Press ISBN 978 1 58093 177 9 OCLC 70267065 OL 22741487M Stern Robert A M Mellins Thomas Fishman David 1995 New York 1960 Architecture and Urbanism Between the Second World War and the Bicentennial New York Monacelli Press ISBN 1 885254 02 4 OCLC 32159240 OL 1130718M UN Assembly How do architects like it First reaction most of them don t PDF Architectural Forum Vol 100 December 1952 UN General Assembly Does it mean a turning point of modern architecture Or is it the bankruptcy of the international style PDF Architectural Forum Vol 100 October 1952 UN General Assembly meets a complex plan problem with the visual poetry of an elegant concave shape PDF Architectural Forum Vol 98 May 1950 U N Headquarters Progress Report PDF Progressive Architecture Vol 31 June 1950 U N s Workshop Life Vol 33 Time Inc November 3 1952 ISSN 0024 3019 United Nations Headquarters Serves as Meeting Place of World Construction and Related Costs of Buildings Placed at 73 Million UN Chronicle Vol 14 no 2 February 1977 ProQuest 1844328210 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title United Nations General Assembly Building amp oldid 1177045996, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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