United Nations Headquarters New York City, NY, USA

Booklet available in English on Heft in deutscher Sprache erhältlich auf Livret disponible en français sur Folleto disponible en español en Folheto disponível em português em Libretto disponibile in italiano su A füzet magyarul ezen a honlapon olvasható: Architecture.LEGO.com

21018_BI.indd 1 15/03/2013 4:33 PM United Nations Headquarters

Standing on the eastern shore of Manhattan, on the banks of New York City’s 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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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,

21018_BI.indd 4 15/03/2013 4:33 PM 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.

21018_BI.indd 5 15/03/2013 4:33 PM 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.

Niemeyer’s 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 river’s 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 wasn’t completely won With the plans approved and the finance in place, over by Niemeyer’s 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 15/03/2013 4:33 PM 7 it was obvious that a tall building would be required to Republic) and Greece; carpets from England, France house all of the offices. Niemeyer’s 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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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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21018_BI.indd 11 15/03/2013 4:33 PM 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 city’s 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.

Niemeyer’s 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

21018_BI.indd 12 15/03/2013 4:33 PM United Nations headquarters. By the middle of the Regarded as one of Modernism’s 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

21018_BI.indd 13 15/03/2013 4:33 PM 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 shutterstock

45 to 39 storeys. © 23

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

documents. © 45

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21018_BI.indd 78 15/03/2013 4:35 PM The General Assembly Hall accommodates 193 delegations. Each

delegation has six seats. wikipedia © 79

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The General Assembly Building is a sloping structure with concave sides, 380 feet long and 160 feet wide, United Nations Photos

topped with a shallow dome. © 83

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The glass in the aluminum framed windows in the Secretariat Building is specially designed to help wikipedia

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The ﬂ ags of the 193 United Nations Member States provide a colorful, 500 foot wide curved approach to shutterstock

21018_BI.indd 107 15/03/2013 4:35 PM 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 building’s slightly trapezoid fi rst 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 Žgalin Kobe The Tower’s 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 off setting, 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.

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21018_BI.indd 108 15/03/2013 4:35 PM 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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2x 3x 300401 7x Text - 302101 6046979 History of United Nations Headquarters, United Nations Visitor Services www.un.org 1x 19x 1x 4558168 http://visit.un.org 300201 371001 http://un.org/publications

Wikipedia.org 15x 2x 407001 6x 243101 Photography - 302001 www.ﬂ ickr.com/photos/un_photo/ 6x 287701 www.shutterstock.com 11x 4560178 2x www.gettyimages.com 18x 366601 en.wikipedia.org 302401

5x 6x 379401 663601 1x Customer Service 379501 Kundenservice 15x Service Consommateurs 302301 1x 4179580 Servicio Al Consumidor 3x 307001 www.lego.com/service or dial 2x 242001 4x 00800 5346 5555 : 4x 623101 1-800-422-5346 : 241201 13x 4613976 22x 9x 114 306901 486501

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21018_BI.indd 115 15/03/2013 4:35 PM 21018_BI.indd 116 A LEGO Group és az Egyesült Nemzetek Szervezetének (ENSZ) közös projektje közös (ENSZ) Szervezetének Nemzetek Egyesült az és Group A LEGO Unidas Nações edas Group LEGO da conjunto projeto Um Unidas yNaciones LEGO Grupo del iniciativa Una Unies Nations des et LEGO Groupe du commun projet Un Nationen Vereinten der und Group LEGO der Gemeinschaftsprojekt Ein Nations United and Group LEGO the by project A joint 15/03/2013 4:35 PM