Edgar J. Kaufmann Conference Rooms (New York City)
The penthouse of 809 United Nations Plaza in New York City contains an icon of Modern architecture, the Edgar J. Kaufmann Conference Rooms, by an internationally acclaimed master in modern architectural design, Alvar Aalto. The rooms are one of only three projects in the United States designed by Aalto (1898-1976), a renowned Finnish architect. Now, the three rooms are facing an uncertain future. The owner, Kokuren Shien L.L.C., has intentions to convert the conference rooms into offices, destroying Aalto’s masterpiece.
The conference rooms were commissioned in 1963 by Edgar J. Kaufmann, Jr., the first curator of industrial design at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), and the son of the Kaufmanns who hired Frank Lloyd Wright to design Fallingwater in Bear Run, Pennsylvania. The rooms were used for over 30 years by the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the United Nations. In 1998, the IIE sold the building to the Foundation for the Support of the United Nations, an investor group, with the understanding that the IIE would continue to use the Aalto space.
However, in the Spring of 2000, the new owners approached Maija Lahteenmaki, then Consul General of Finland, with their intention to convert the 12th floor space containing the Aalto-designed rooms into offices. Lahteenmaki solicited help from several noted architects, who emphasized to the owners the importance of preserving the space. In response, the owners have offered to donate the removable portions of the rooms to anyone willing to pay for the cost of removal.
The
United States chapter of DOCOMOMO (the Documentation and Conservation of
buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the Modern Movement), working with
Caroline Zaleski, a recent graduate of the Columbia University
Preservation Program, has stressed the significance of the Aalto-designed
rooms to the history of New York’s heritage of modern architecture, and
has been concerned about their future.
According to Zaleski, "The rooms are a masterpiece within the context of Aalto’s work, and they represent a catalogue of his architectural devices. They are an important site in the history of New York City, the country, and the United Nations, as well as the great patronage that the Kaufmann family provided to Modern architecture."
In September 2000, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission secured an agreement from the owners that no action on the space would occur for 90 days. This time period expires in December 2000, and so far no public hearing has been scheduled to designate the rooms as a New York City Landmark.
"What is really in danger here is the not only the destruction of this space, but also the removal of the rooms from their original context," says Scott P. Heyl, President of the Preservation League of New York State. "The conference rooms should remain intact, in situ. Otherwise, no one will ever truly experience Aalto’s original intentions."
Contacts:
Caroline Rob Zaleski, Preservation Advocate, DOCOMOMO Tri-State, 212-877-2170
Scott P. Heyl, President, Preservation League of New York State, 518-462-5658, ext. 19
Emily Curtis, Director of Communications, Preservation League of New York State, 518-462-5658, ext. 17