United Nations Building Le Corbusier NYC 1952 The Secretariat Building of the United Nations Headquarters is a glass skyscraper that stands 39 stories above the rest of the complex. The United Nations Headquarters is a complex made up of several volumes, the tallest volume designed by Corbusier. The Secretariat the International Style skyscraper makes a formal gesture on the New York City waterfront. The building was an inspiring move in the Modernist movement. Built from 1947-1952 the Building was a collaboration of many architects with the most famous being Corbusier. The International Style of the building was suppose to represent the International quality of the United Nations. It also helped influence the rise of the highrise skyscraper. In the facade detail of the United Nations Building the width of the building compared to the height of every ten floors is a golden ratio. Despite the unfunctional properties of the building it had a great hand in the revitalization of Midtown and neighborhoods along the East River during the 1950s. http://www.nyc-architecture.com/mid/mid001.htm
United Nations Building Le Corbusier NYC 1952 Construction on the East River The Secretariat Building is made up of masonry, green glass panels, steel, and reinforced concrete. The flush connection detail of the building s facade is a beautiful example of the use of glass and steel in the modern style orf architecture. The Secretariat Building is currently under renovation due to various complications with the saftey issues that are scheduled to finish in 2014. Another one of Corbusier s earlier works, the Villa Savoye, is an example of the International Style. The use of structure and material are a clear example of his Five Points of Architecture. It became one of Corbusier s first projects towards Modernism.
United Nations Building McGraw Hill Building The UN Headquarters and the McGraw Hill building share similiar ideas about the use of glass and structure. And although they differ in expression the ideas pushed towards Modernism are one in the same. As you can see from some of the Villa Savoye and the Chicago Tribune Tower Corbusier s and Hood s previous work had much to deal with before their jumps into Modernism. Their theories and thoughts of structure and ornament were nothing alike.
McGraw Hill Building Raymond Hood NYC 1930 Known most commonly as an architect of the Art Deco movement, Hood transcended International Style. Chicago Tribune Building Daily News Building Radiator Building Hood s prior buildings most often made use of ornament, accenting windows and the peaks of buildings in a Neogothic and Art Deco style. Additionally, most Deco buildings utilized vertical bands which emphasized the heights of the towers. The East-West facades use a stepping resembling an Art-Deco style. The North-South facades appear as a continuous slab with horizontal windows appearing as ribbons, typical of the International Style.
McGraw Hill Building Raymond Hood NYC 1930 from decoration. Instead, Hood chose a blue-green terrocotta tile to share half the facade with glass. The building was designed as a loft residential open and designed to allow maxium natural light from all directions. The Mc-Graw Hill building is situated on W. 42 St, at the time in a low class residential area, far west from the bustle of midtown. The site was chosen in great part for its cheap land.
Aali Ladak & Brian Ugartechea Works Cited GRAY, Christopher, Streetscapes/The Old McGraw-Hill Building; A Color-Filled Restoration of a Colorful Skyscraper, The New York Times, March 14, 1999. The Sky Line, The New Yorker, July 25, 1931, pp. 38-39. Fletcher, Tom. "New York Architecture Images- United Nations Headquarters." 301 Moved Permanently. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. <http://www.nycarchitecture.com/mid/mid001.htm>. "United Nations Secretariat Building, New York City SkyscraperPage.com."SkyscraperPage.com. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. <http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingid=805>. Kilham, Walter Harrington. "McGraw Hill." Raymond Hood: Architecs Form Though Function in the American Skycraper. New York: Architectural Book, 1973. Print.