United Nations Secretariat Building, NYC, 2021.
All the pixels, with simultaneous translation into multiple languages, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/51381729335
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this post was submitted on 01 Nov 2024
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Love them or hate them, mid-century rectangular glass curtain buildings like this are easy to dismiss as being "boring", but I think that misses something.
Reflections of the surroundings become part of the facade, which changes at different angles and throughout the day. I visited several times and made dozens of photos, all quite different, before I settled on this one, and there are infinitely many photos others could make, all unique. (Similar to the new World Trade Center in this regard).
The UN Secretariat building was designed by an international team of architects (most notably Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer) and completed in 1950. It was the first important "International Style" modernist skyscraper in New York - exemplified here here by a simple, unadorned rectangle with reflective glass curtain walls on either side.
Glass box office buildings became almost cliche in mid-century NYC, but the UN remains unusual in being set apart in the skyline, uncrowded by neighbors.
I have mixed feelings about Le Corbusier's architecture (to say nothing of his urban planning philosophy - he clearly influenced Robert Moses), but I think the UN Secretariat building was one of his successes.
An aside: If you look at the full resolution version (downloadable on flickr), you can see the HF amateur radio antenna on the roof. Nerds are everywhere, even/especially at the UN. There's also a family taking a group picture on the street in front.
@mattblaze@federate.social The vertical is for ham HF? Interesting. I could picture other reasons for HF, but wouldn't expect ham.
@auroran@mastodon.social Yeah, there's a small but active amateur radio club for the staff and friends there (4U1UN).
@mattblaze@federate.social @auroran@mastodon.social
Geopolitical-aware nerds at the UN, figures.
I would expect the station would be dual-use in a communications emergency. There's usually a reason besides staff morale to allow roof use like that: contingencies.
I wouldn't be surprised if they had a Rockwell full coverage 5kW 0-30Mc transceiver from the supply available to the state CD bunkers in 1950s-60s. Beautiful.
@n1vux@mastodon.radio @auroran@mastodon.social Way back when I visited a few times, it was just some higher-end Yaesu rig. I think the station is just amateur; the NY UN HQ isn't where most the operational stuff (peacekeeping, etc) is based.
@n1vux@mastodon.radio @auroran@mastodon.social Also, it's an off the shelf HF amateur-band-only vertical, not the monster wideband log periodic that you see on typical "real" gov't type stations.
@mattblaze@federate.social @auroran@mastodon.social
Ah well, then it's at best a limited contingency for Secretary General to get a voice connection to some besieged capital. I expected better of a cold war institution.
(OTOH that would've been a decent contingency 50 years ago.)
@mattblaze@federate.social @auroran@mastodon.social
Looks really nice in your photo!