The United Nations Building

Secretariat Building

The United Nations Headquarters in New York City is owned by the United Nations and it is considered an international territory. The main campus is comprised of 7 buildings, the Secretariat (1950), General Assembly building (1952), Conference Building (1952), Parking Garage building (1952), Library Building (1961), North Lawn building (built 1981) and South Annex building (1982). In January 1949, the construction contract for the headquarters was awarded. Delegates agreed that this was a joint project of leading architects. The members of the Board of Design were Nikolai G. Bassov (Soviet Union); Gaston Brunfaut (Belgium); Ernest Cormier (Canada); Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (Le Corbusier from France); Liang Seu-Cheng (China); Sven Markelius (Sweden); Oscar Niemayer (Brazil); Sir Howard Robertson (UK); G. A. Solleux (Australia); and Julio Vilamajo (Uruguay). The Director of Planning was Wallace K. Harrison (United States of America), who was responsible to build ideas together. 

The Secretariat is a major organ of the United Nations and its tower is monolithic in the landscape of the campus. The building houses the administrative offices for the organization and the Secretary-General’s office. The uninterrupted green-blue glass of the east and west façades is contrasted by the windowless, Vermont marble stone on the north and south façades. The internal space is utilitarian in design, with little to no wasted space and minimal adornment. At the Secretariat entrance is a fountain of three major elements: the fountain itself (gifted by children of the United States of America), the pool floor covered with stones (gifted by Greece) and the sculpture ‘Single Form’ (gifted by the Jacob Blaustein Foundation). The height of the tower emboldens its occupants to aspire to the needs and decisions of the Organization."

At a dedication ceremony, on 24 Oct 1949 (UN day), the first Secretary-General, Trygve Lie (1896-1968) of Norway, placed the cornerstone of the United Nations complex in the presence of President Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) of the United States of America. Construction of the complex was completed in 1952 and a substantially renovated in 2009 to 2013. The land was donated by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874-1960), with a few parcels from the City of New York. The government of the United States of America provided an interest-free loan for construction, and further donations were made by other United Nations Member States.