United Nations Headquarters

New York City, NY, USA

Booklet available in English on

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Livret disponible en franais sur
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 United Nations Headquarters

Standing on the eastern shore of Manhattan, on the

banks of New York Citys East River, the United Nations
Headquarters has become an acclaimed modernist
architectural landmark. In an ambitious attempt to match
the United Nations own spirit of international cooperation,
it was created through the collaborative effort of a
multinational team of leading architects that included,
amongst others, Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier.

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 United Nations Photos
 History

The United Nations organization was officially formed in industry and a railroad barge landing. Once the site
October 1945 as the Second World War came to an end. was agreed upon, the next task was to design the
Headquarters itself. Delegates decided that the United
In December of that year, the Congress of the United Nations home should be the joint project of leading
States unanimously resolved to invite the United Nations architects from many countries. Wallace K. Harrison of
to establish its permanent home in the USA. Thereafter, a the United States was appointed chief architect and
special United Nations site committee studied possible given the title of Director of Planning. A ten-member
locations in such places as Philadelphia, Boston and San Board of Design Consultants was selected to assist him,
Francisco. composed of architects nominated by member States.

While consideration was given to areas north of New The members of the Board were Nikolai G. Bassov
York City, crowded Manhattan had not been seriously (Soviet Union); Gaston Brunfaut (Belgium); Ernest Cormier
investigated. A last-minute offer of $8.5 million by John (Canada); Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, better known as
D. Rockefeller, Jr., for the purchase of the present site Le Corbusier (France); Liang Seu-Cheng (China); Sven
was accepted by a majority of the General Assembly in Markelius (Sweden); Oscar Niemeyer (Brazil); Sir Howard
December 1946. Robertson (United Kingdom); G. A. Soilleux (Australia);
and Julio Vilamajo (Uruguay). The Director and the Board
The site chosen by the United Nations was a 17 acre began their work early in 1947 from an office in the
(69,000m2) run-down area of slaughterhouses, light Rockefeller Center. Some 50 basic designs were created,

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criticized, analyzed and reworked. The planners had to
take into account the structure of the United Nations
with its General Assembly, three main Councils and
permanent Secretariat.

United Nations Photos United Nations Photos

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 Design & Construction

From the 50 designs evaluated by the Board, scheme 32, open civic square, Niemeyer accepted the modification
submitted by the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, was and both architects re-submitted a joint plan, which is the
initially selected as the most interesting plan. building complex that can be seen today.

Niemeyers original idea for the site included three The original budget for the project was first estimated
structures standing free, with a fourth lying low behind at $85 million, but savings and re-workings of the plan
them along the rivers edge. He chose to split the councils reduced this to $65 million. The United States Government
from the Assembly Hall, creating a grand public plaza in provided an interest-free loan for the whole amount to
between the two areas. cover the entire construction costs.

The only board member who wasnt completely won With the plans approved and the finance in place,
over by Niemeyers elegantly articulated composition the decision to carry them out moved ahead quickly.
was Swiss-born Le Corbusier. His design, scheme nr 23, Nineteen months later, on 21 August 1950, the first
had proposed a single block in the center of the site Secretariat workers moved into their new offices.
containing both the Assembly Hall and the different
councils. As the chosen site was relatively small, bounded on
one side by the East River Drive (later the Franklin D.
Le Corbusier approached Niemeyer and suggested Roosevelt East River Drive) and on the other by the East
repositioning the Assembly Hall to the center of the site. River itself,
Although this would radically change his idea of a large,

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 United Nations Photos

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 it was obvious that a tall building would be required to Republic) and Greece; carpets from England, France
house all of the offices. Niemeyers 39-story Secretariat and Scotland. In addition, tables were purchased from
Building was controversial in its time, but has since Switzerland and various woods for interior finishing came
become an icon for the modernist style of the complex. from Belgium, Canada, Cuba, Guatemala, the Philippines,
Norway and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the
The exterior facings of the 550-foot tall (167.6 m) Secretariat Congo).
Building were made exclusively of aluminum, glass and
marble. Wide areas of green-tinted glass were unbroken
by conventional setbacks. In contrast, the windowless
north and south facades of the building were faced with
2,000 tons (1814 metric tons) of Vermont marble.

In keeping with the international character of the

United Nations, materials for the Headquarters were
selected from many lands. Limestone for the facings
of the Assembly and Conference Buildings came from
the United Kingdom; marble from Italy; office furniture
and shelving from France; chairs and fabrics from
Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and the Slovak

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 Wikipedia

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 From 1951 to today

Over the years, the interiors of the buildings have been more energy efficient. The first UN staff returned to the
altered to accommodate the many states that have newly renovated building in July 2012.
joined the United Nations since its inception. In 1947
when construction plans were drawn up, there were 57
Member States, and provision was made for an increase
in membership to 70.

This anticipated increase was already exceeded by

1955, and an expansion program was completed in 1964
providing space for a membership of 126.

The most ambitious renovation to date was launched with

a groundbreaking ceremony in May 2008, marking the
beginning of a five-year, $1.9 billion complete overhaul
of the UN landmark complex. When completed, the
complex is expected to be more energy efficient and
have greatly improved security. The installation of a new
glass facade for the Secretariat Building was completed
in 2012. It retains the look of the original facade but is
United Nations Photos

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 United Nations Photos

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 The Architect
(1907 - 2012)

Though the design of the United Nations complex was

officially a collaborative effort by a multinational team
of architects led by Wallace K. Harrison, it is generally
accepted that the elegant architecture was the result of
the vision of one man: Oscar Niemeyer.

Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho was

born in the city of Rio de Janeiro on December 15, 1907.
He graduated with a BA in architecture from the citys
National School of Fine Arts in 1934 and began working
without payment in a local architecture studio. In 1936,
Niemeyer met Le Corbusier, who became a strong
influence and teacher. By 1939, Niemeyer was leading a
team that had been given the task of creating the first
state-sponsored modernist skyscraper.

Niemeyers worldwide recognition was further confirmed

in 1947 when the then 40 year-old architect was invited
to be a part of the team working on the design of the
gettyimages

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United Nations headquarters. By the middle of the Regarded as one of Modernisms greatest luminaries,
1950s, Niemeyer was involved in one of his largest and Niemeyer was famous for his use of abstract forms and
most complicated assignments: the design of the new curves. His buildings are characterized by an elegance
Brazilian capital city, Brasilia. Niemeyer would use this and harmony, often made possible by his pioneering
project to test new concepts of city planning. work with reinforced concrete.

I am not attracted to straight angles or to the straight line,

hard and inflexible, created by man.
I am attracted to free-flowing, sensual curves.
Oscar Niemeyer

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 Facts about UN Headquarters
Location: ........................................ Manhattan, New York City, NY
Architects: ..................................... International team, lead by Wallace K. Harrison, and including Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer
Style: .................................................. Modernist, International
Materials: ....................................... Aluminum, glass & Vermont marble
Construction date: ................ Started 24/10/1947 (cornerstone laid 24/10/1949)
Footprint: ....................................... 17 acres (69,000m2)
Height: .............................................. 550 ft. (167.6 m), Secretariat Building
Stories: ............................................. 39 above ground, Secretariat Building

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To reduce costs the original
height of the Secretariat
Building was reduced from
45 to 39 storeys.

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United Nations Photos

The Dag Hammarskjld
Library houses approximately
400,000 volumes in its general
collection and, in addition, has
several million United Nations
documents.

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 The General Assembly

wikipedia
Hall accommodates
193 delegations. Each
delegation has six seats.

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United Nations Photos

The General Assembly
Building is a sloping structure
with concave sides, 380
feet long and 160 feet wide,
topped with a shallow dome.

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The glass in the aluminum

framed windows in the

wikipedia
Secretariat Building is
specially designed to help
retain solar heat.

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The ags of the 193 United

shutterstock
Nations Member States
provide a colorful, 500 foot
wide curved approach to
the Headquarters.

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 A Word from the Artist

The United Nations iconic headquarters in New York Secretariat Buildings and is cantilevered over the freeway
is a famous example of the international style and the along the river edge. The buildings slightly trapezoid
first monument of postwar modernism. The complex is ground plan required a sophisticated LEGO design, which
dominated by a remarkably thin Secretariat building, will hopefully translate into a fun build.
whose proportions also served as a starting-point for the
design of the LEGO model.
Rok galin Kobe
The Towers deceptively simple form is achieved in LEGO
using fairly complex building techniques, such as an
almost seamless transition from an eight LEGO stud wide
shaft to a nine-stud wide top of the building, which even
includes some of the pieces turned upside down.

In contrast to the rational rectangular, austere tower is the

more sculptural, sloping General Assembly Building. The
delicate curves of its west and east long, concave facades The United Nations Headquarters model was created in
are indicated with offsetting, which allows for small close collaboration with the LEGO design team. They
increments only half of a LEGO plate deep. The architects looked at the model from a LEGO building point of view
original design is concluded by the low Conference to ensure that the construction process will be simple and
Building, which connects the General Assembly and logical, and a positive experience for the user.

108
The Scale Model line LEGO Architecture in the 1960s

The history of the current LEGO Architecture series can The name itself was a direct link to the way architects and
be traced back to the beginning of the 1960s, when the engineers worked, and it was hoped that they and others
popularity of the LEGO brick was steadily increasing. would build their projects to scale in LEGO elements.
Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, the then owner of the As with LEGO Architecture today, the original sets
company, began looking for ways to further expand the were designed to be different from the normal, brightly
LEGO system and asked his designers to come up with colored LEGO boxes, and also included An Architectural
a set of components that would add a new dimension to Book for inspiration.
LEGO building.
Though the five elements remain
Their answer was as simple as it was revolutionary: five an integral part of the LEGO
elements that matched the existing bricks, but were only building system today, the
one third the height. These new building plates made it Scale Model line was
possible to construct more detailed models than before. phased out in 1965.
Many of the principles
This greater LEGO flexibility seemed to match the spirit from the series would
of the age; modernist architects were redefining how re-emerge over 40
houses looked and people were taking an active interest years later in the LEGO
in the design of their new homes. It was these trends that Architecture series.
led to the introduction of the LEGO Scale Model line in
early 1962.

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 Architect series

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 Landmark series

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 LEGO and the LEGO logo are trademarks of the LEGO Group.
2013 The LEGO Group. 6055095
A joint project by the LEGO Group and United Nations
Ein Gemeinschaftsprojekt der LEGO Group und der Vereinten Nationen
Un projet commun du Groupe LEGO et des Nations Unies
Una iniciativa del Grupo LEGO y Naciones Unidas
Um projeto conjunto da LEGO Group e das Naes Unidas
A LEGO Group s az Egyeslt Nemzetek Szervezetnek (ENSZ) kzs projektje