GA 200 is identified within the general assembly building as a blue body with elegantly rounded forms. At the back it blends with the curved and slanted gold wall of the GA hall. Its sculptural character will define the aesthetic principles for the new structures in the area to be redesigned. The rich dynamics of the perimeter should be seen from the inside as a single, unified surface. All right-angled walls will be removed, the perimeter rounded and the entire surface painted white. The inserted structures enter into a dialogue with the organic forms and consistently functional details that characterize the overall architecture of the GA building.

In outline, the ground plan resembles an abstract rendition of a butterfly. Its extended form will be optically enhanced to emphasize the feeling of wings spread out. Two essentially symmetrical, molded wings of larch veneer extend out into the room from the ceiling left and right. Forming an L-shaped curve down to the floor, they close off several rooms. The lobby extends full length between them. In the lobby, two additional room-defining shells out of walnut wrap around two seating areas.

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The reiterated wing motif embodies a hybrid form which acts as a dynamic space divider and as functional furniture. It defines three special areas each with an inner life of its own: to the right the reception rooms of the President and the General Secretary, to the left the area of the Servicing Bureau, and between them the lobby and the press foyer. Material and color (wood) of the molded forms are clearly set off against the white architecture of the interior of GA 200. Glimpses of its basic shape can be perceived from many vantage points; it is also distinguished by wall-to-wall red carpeting, a white ceiling, and the subtle mural painting, which defines the perimeter as a unit.

It is part of the principal of the overall design that the freestanding furniture � adapted by a Swiss designer from his collection especially for the lobby of GA 200 � stands off against the strong presence of the soft-line motif of the architecture. The more severe formal idiom of the furniture also ties in with the official, representative nature of its use.

Project Details

General Assembly Lobby
UNO GA-200
United Nations Organisation
New York

Competition

Client: Swiss Confederation
Federal Office of Construction and Logistics

Architecture: Isa Stüm Urs Wolf SA
Yoshihiro Nagamine, Annika Seifert, Isa Stürm, Urs Wolf

Curator: Jacqueline Burckhardt, Zürich

Artist: Niele Toroni, Paris

Furniture Design: Philippe Cramer, Geneva

Light Designer: Observatoire International, New York
Herve Descottes, Etienne Gillabert

Graphic Design: Parkett AG, Zürich
Hanna Koller

Mock-up: Zaborowsky Modellbau, Zürich
Dumeng Raffainer

Translation: Catherine Schelbert, Hertenstein

Carpentry: Röthlisberger AG, Gümligen
Roland Keller