New York, New York

Built between 1948 and 1952, the United Nations Headquarters was designed by Oscar Niemeyer, Le Corbusier, and Harrison & Abramovitz. A noted example of the International Style, the complex consists of four buildings: the General Assembly Building, the Conference Building, the Secretariat, and the Dag Hammarskjold Library.

Since 2004, BCA has been involved with the restoration of the United Nations complex, working on the General Assembly and Conference Buildings. BCA created an extensive interior catalog of architectural finishes and features (e.g. walls, ceilings, and floor finishes; railings, stairs and escalators; light fixtures; room dividers and fixed furniture; doors and door hardware, and wall-mounted clocks) to inform the restoration of the interiors of the General Assembly and Conference Buildings. Existing conditions were surveyed and documented using hand-held devices and photography. The data was organized into a database to prepare for construction documents. 

BCA also wrote the preservation design guidelines for the interiors of the General Assembly and Conference Buildings to inform the restoration of the significant spaces of the complex. BCA designed conservation treatments for the interior finishes of these buildings based on the survey findings. 

Most recently, BCA provided a pre-construction documentation survey of over 500 chairs and 250 tables in the Conference Building. This included creating an additional database of each individual item, including materials, finishes, and specific conditions of all fixed-in-place furnishings and wall dividers and modular architectural features in anticipation of the upcoming rehabilitation work at the building. BCA provided drawings, created by surveying instruments showing the precise location of each item, as well as three photographic views of each item. 

Materials: Concrete, Finishes, Metal, Stone
Related services: Conditions Surveys, Cost Estimating, Field Testing, Finishes Analysis, Lab Testing, Landmarks, Master Plans, Research, Specifications