Global Vision

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GLOBAL VISIONAIRIES | UN
Buil d ing a T went y- F irst Century ‘ tal k ing shop ’:
Capital Master Plan
and the new
UN Headquarters
What do you do when the world’s
most important home to Diplomats
reaches the end of its useful life ?
No small problem for the Capital
Master Plan (CMP) owners in New
York, when every nation on Earth
can have a say in the development.
The United Nations building was hurriedly
constructed after the Second World War and
opened in 1950 at a cost of some $65 million.
Using hazardous materials such as asbestos
and lacking a fire sprinkler system were al-
ways going to put a shelf life on the lifespan
of the building. Add to this the security
challenges following the 9/11 terror attacks
in New York City and a connected world via
internet and mobile communications put an
3 8 | G LO BAL V ISION MAGA Z I NE
even higher premium on revamping the best
diplomatic real estate on Earth.
The new plan is, indeed ambitious. At pres-
ent The UNHQ complex covers an area of
over 17 acres, and includes 6 buildings total-
ing about 2.6 million square feet. In the first
phase, a $300 million, 175000 square foot
temporary building is being built to house
the United Nations pending construction of
By J e f f re y B r a d fo r d P h D.
Artists impression of the Temporary North Lawn building
a 35 storey modernist building designed by
Japanese architect Fumihiko Mahi, to be
completed by 2013 at a total project cost of
some $1.9 billion. Once finished the tempo-
rary building will be demolished.
Discussions started in the mid 1990s and as
it can be imagined was a diplomatic trial in
itself to get the buy-in of the 190 plus na-
tions who are all members. One of the con-
siderations to reaching a decision on mod-
GLOBAL VISIONAIRIES | UN
The UN Secretary General and colleagues on the CMP program break ground on the temporary North Lawn Building May 5, 2008
Temporary North Lawn Building under construction next
door to the iconic United Nations Headquarters building in
New York City
ernization was, no doubt, the fact that
building systems were running some thirty
years beyond their design life – heating and
cooling systems built to manage the ex-
tremes of the New York climate should have
been replaced by the early 1980s.
For more details of the Capital Master Plan
scheme please see the United Nations website
www.un.org/cmp or contact the CMP team at
cmp-ny@un.org.
United Nations Secretary General Ban-Ki moon in front of an impression of the Capital Master Plan redevelopment on ground
breaking day, May 5, 2008
GLO BAL V I SI O N MAGA ZI N E | 39