UN Buildings - Architecture of International Law

These three images were created to accompany an upcoming book chapter, 'The Desire for Value Consensus in International Law: Architectural Aspirations of Global Institutions' (co-authored with Prof Rain Liivoja). The chapter examines the Architecture of three UN Buildings and the role architecture plays in international law, and will be published in the forthcoming edited collection: "International Law and Architecture" (Edward Elgar, 2025).

Abstract:
Architecture has long played a role in communicating the social capital of governing bodies, stabilising identities, and shaping norms that lead to value consensus. The building designs of international legal institutions materialise global aspirations for supra-national justice and social order. This chapter examines three UN buildings, exploring how their architectural objectives articulate the desire for value consensus in international law. The Palais des Nations in Geneva sought to embody the growing cooperation of States working towards pacific ideals. The UN Headquarters in New York strove towards an architectural icon that would distance itself from past international conflicts and foster an age of peace. Back in Geneva, the most recent extension to the Palais des Nations, Building H, demonstrates the UN’s current orientation towards international collaboration on environmental sustainability. Through a Deleuzian lens, the chapter analyses these architectural aspirations via desiring-production, exploring how these buildings site justice on a global stage, achieve value consensus, and promote the norms of international law.