[will be updated anytime this week]
MASTER DESIGN
STUDIO Christos
Passas, Guest DAAD Prof.
Alexander
Kalachev, Teaching Assistant
Redesigning and Updating the United Nations headquarters in New York City through aspect of Organization’s Structure and Unrepresented Groups in UN
Redesigning and Updating the United Nations headquarters in New York City through aspect of Organization’s Structure and Unrepresented Groups in UN
Basis of the research
We started our research by collecting information about UN organization, UNHQ in New York City, its history and delivered designs. In addition to that we collected statistical information from other worldwide sources to enable our understanding of large stale groups and organizations that offer significantly to world culture and politics and try to reconstruct an image of the world not merely based on the political world map, but other perhaps less visible but equally impactful forces. Gathering this primal information about the history of the organization, also its structure different questions arose.
We started our research by collecting information about UN organization, UNHQ in New York City, its history and delivered designs. In addition to that we collected statistical information from other worldwide sources to enable our understanding of large stale groups and organizations that offer significantly to world culture and politics and try to reconstruct an image of the world not merely based on the political world map, but other perhaps less visible but equally impactful forces. Gathering this primal information about the history of the organization, also its structure different questions arose.
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Countries with one or more member in Unrepresented Nations and People’s Organization (UNPO) which seems opposite organization to UN, but has the same functions and goals.
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Analyzing the
organizational structure of the UN
Dealing with the role of information in our process, existing patterns of embracing it, we tried to look beyond all that, searching for deeper values. Step by step approach led to purify the subjects of interest and lead to deeper view to the organization itself. Participants, countries, nations, which for someone might seem as similar words, got very different meaning in terms of organization structure. All the problems in any community- education, health issues and crime are the problems of United Nations alike. The United Nations organization appeared like mini shape of the world itself. But this is still an organization- an organized structure with an explicit purpose and written rules.
For Organization’s dynamic structure we showed dynamic, 2d and 3d diagrams so we could see how this ‘mechanism’ works. The ambition of this work is to formulate the framework and methodologies through which innovative architectural project can be delivered. We produced variety of interpretations for each problem, so we can have different views to it. These compositions are our starting point where we are continuing with diversified compositions that propose radical and new thinking. We see our project not as a completion of universal model, but rather as an excursion into new territory.
The United Nations organization consists of seven parts: main bodies- General Assembly, Security Council, Economical and Social Council, International Court of Justice, Secretariat, Trusteeship Council, and separate agencies and programmes which we considered as one part. The Trusteeship Council suspended operation on 1 November 1994, with the independence of Palau, the last remaining United Nations trust territory. So for our research we were dealing with the rest of six main parts. Every one of them has smaller parts. For eg. General Assembly has following Bodies reporting directly to it: Six Main Committees; several Subsidiary Bodies; advisory Subsidiary Bodies; programmes and funds; research and Training Institutes, Other Un Entities- overall one hundred parts belong to General Assembly. The other Organization’s parts have same or similar structure. We were especially interested in how and what parts are linked with each other. How the distributions of activities are differed and where they connect. For eg. International court of Justice is the only main part located not in New York City- the seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). The Court has its separate inner organizational body, so it is not related with the United Nations Secretariat. But it has important direct connections with General Assembly and Security Council, which chooses juries for nine years term. This short example shows relations which we find important and search for ways to show them in our concept.
Dealing with the role of information in our process, existing patterns of embracing it, we tried to look beyond all that, searching for deeper values. Step by step approach led to purify the subjects of interest and lead to deeper view to the organization itself. Participants, countries, nations, which for someone might seem as similar words, got very different meaning in terms of organization structure. All the problems in any community- education, health issues and crime are the problems of United Nations alike. The United Nations organization appeared like mini shape of the world itself. But this is still an organization- an organized structure with an explicit purpose and written rules.
For Organization’s dynamic structure we showed dynamic, 2d and 3d diagrams so we could see how this ‘mechanism’ works. The ambition of this work is to formulate the framework and methodologies through which innovative architectural project can be delivered. We produced variety of interpretations for each problem, so we can have different views to it. These compositions are our starting point where we are continuing with diversified compositions that propose radical and new thinking. We see our project not as a completion of universal model, but rather as an excursion into new territory.
The United Nations organization consists of seven parts: main bodies- General Assembly, Security Council, Economical and Social Council, International Court of Justice, Secretariat, Trusteeship Council, and separate agencies and programmes which we considered as one part. The Trusteeship Council suspended operation on 1 November 1994, with the independence of Palau, the last remaining United Nations trust territory. So for our research we were dealing with the rest of six main parts. Every one of them has smaller parts. For eg. General Assembly has following Bodies reporting directly to it: Six Main Committees; several Subsidiary Bodies; advisory Subsidiary Bodies; programmes and funds; research and Training Institutes, Other Un Entities- overall one hundred parts belong to General Assembly. The other Organization’s parts have same or similar structure. We were especially interested in how and what parts are linked with each other. How the distributions of activities are differed and where they connect. For eg. International court of Justice is the only main part located not in New York City- the seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). The Court has its separate inner organizational body, so it is not related with the United Nations Secretariat. But it has important direct connections with General Assembly and Security Council, which chooses juries for nine years term. This short example shows relations which we find important and search for ways to show them in our concept.
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Seven main parts of the Organization and their relationship
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Thesis statement.
This all complex structure, which was growing and expanding during the years, is mainly located in headquarters in New York City, international territory. For the details mentioned in “Introduction to the project” part and after our research we formulated our subject of interest and our design thesis subject-
Redesigning and Updating the United Nations headquarters in New York through aspect of Organization’s Structure and Unrepresented Groups in UN.
This all complex structure, which was growing and expanding during the years, is mainly located in headquarters in New York City, international territory. For the details mentioned in “Introduction to the project” part and after our research we formulated our subject of interest and our design thesis subject-
Redesigning and Updating the United Nations headquarters in New York through aspect of Organization’s Structure and Unrepresented Groups in UN.
Design Method
Through the sequence of work with static and animated diagrams done in our 3rd semester’s analysis work we formed ideas and understanding what the problem is we are dealing with. All this material (eg. world’s population data, literacy rate) with no apparent connection, open to interpretation, was presented and represented in several ways. This encouraged to establish new relationships and new connections. Connecting is not attaching or assembling pieces together. It’s finding the links, the reasons how and why they connect. We tried to determine those links in our exposed organization structure, and find the patterns which we could use for the building design, differential or not according to spatial, functional, social and other criteria. This is our formulated methodology which we want to apply in building structure and design.
Our research methods integrate into design methods. Testing new relevant thinking and data, applying strategies mark the start of design argumentation and design process.
One of the main goals formulated through analysis was to find ways for applying adaptive design for the building. The building has to be not only easy accessible, affordable, inclusive and fun, not only focused on sustainability and climatic parameters. Our goal is to make a building where aesthetics is combined with architectural parameters, with newest technologies and their potential to adapt and change in various situations.
Our analysis led us to formulate few main points about organization’s structure:
- Structure changing during the years\year
- Live system with growing complexity
- Flexible and adaptive structure.
These are the main elements we would like to adapt in our building design. Representing these aspects will represent our view to the organization itself. Ever-changing demands should be implemented and not resisted by the building.
Through the sequence of work with static and animated diagrams done in our 3rd semester’s analysis work we formed ideas and understanding what the problem is we are dealing with. All this material (eg. world’s population data, literacy rate) with no apparent connection, open to interpretation, was presented and represented in several ways. This encouraged to establish new relationships and new connections. Connecting is not attaching or assembling pieces together. It’s finding the links, the reasons how and why they connect. We tried to determine those links in our exposed organization structure, and find the patterns which we could use for the building design, differential or not according to spatial, functional, social and other criteria. This is our formulated methodology which we want to apply in building structure and design.
Our research methods integrate into design methods. Testing new relevant thinking and data, applying strategies mark the start of design argumentation and design process.
One of the main goals formulated through analysis was to find ways for applying adaptive design for the building. The building has to be not only easy accessible, affordable, inclusive and fun, not only focused on sustainability and climatic parameters. Our goal is to make a building where aesthetics is combined with architectural parameters, with newest technologies and their potential to adapt and change in various situations.
Our analysis led us to formulate few main points about organization’s structure:
- Structure changing during the years\year
- Live system with growing complexity
- Flexible and adaptive structure.
These are the main elements we would like to adapt in our building design. Representing these aspects will represent our view to the organization itself. Ever-changing demands should be implemented and not resisted by the building.
United Nations’ General Assembly’s structure and workflow during the year