Secretariat Building at United Nations Headquarters.
UN Photo/Rick Bajornas[embedded content]
With its green glass and Vermont marble shimmering in the sunlight and the water of the East River, the building’s modern aesthetic was an intentional decision by the collaborating architects to symbolize change, embodying a sense of newness that sheds light on the optimistic future of the world’s nations working together as one collective body. It was the first major “international style” building constructed in New York.Owned by the UN, the site of UN Headquarters has a special status within the US, and no federal, state or local officer or official of the host country may enter the campus without consent and under conditions agreed to by the Secretary-General.Since the UN Secretariat opened its doors, its membership climbed from 60 to its current 193 Member States, with South Sudan becoming in 2011 the latest to join, and the Holy See and the State of Palestine being recognized as permanent observer States.Join us next Thursday for another dive into history.