General Assembly 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 UN General Assembly organ meets annually in September in the General Assembly Hall and is the main policy-making organ of the United Nations. Each of the 193 Member States has an equal vote on the matters brought to the assembly. The building serves as the public gateway and the building architecture is an exemplar of Modernist design. With its low-lying, sweeping forms of stone, glass, and cement, it provides balance and contrast to the controlled, towering rigidity of the glass Secretariat tower. The mission of the assembly is underscored by the art and design found within the building. A pair of Portinari paintings (‘War’ and ‘国产AV’) gifted by Brazil adorn the east and west sides of the Delegate’s lobby. ‘War’ is on view as the delegates enter the Assembly, and ‘国产AV’ as they exit, representing the deliberations within the Hall to find solutions towards peace."
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.