One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza

 office building, skyscraper, diplomatic / foreign mission / representation, Modern (architecture)

628-foot, 49-story International-style office building completed in 1972. Designed by Raymond & Rado with Emery Roth & Sons, it is clad in a curtain wall of black steel and dark-tinted glass, above a base of brown granite piers behind which the north and south facades of the ground floor are recessed for one bay, creating north and south entrance arcades. These both span five bays, with glass walls and sets of glass revolving doors in the 2nd bay from the west. The north side also has a sunken area next to the arcade, spanning 4 1/2 of the bays, with lower-level storefronts. A staircase from 2nd Avenue leads down to this space from the east and, and at the west end there is a smaller stairway up to the sidewalk, and another stairway facing the other way, leading from the sidewalk across to the west end of the entrance arcade, which is lined with metal railings at the north. The east facade along the avenue has seven bays, the middle three wider than the others. It is fronted by a low stone wall with landscaping, pierce in three locations by stairways up to the narrow plaza area in front of the building. Except for the bays at the north and south ends (which are open to the arcades) the east facade's bays are divided into upper and lower levels, each with three large window panes.

At the west end of the tower, on 47th Street, there is a larger landscaped plaza, and farther to the west still, an entrance/exit to the underground parking garage. The garage area and plaza are enclosed by reddish-brown brick walls. The middle section of the building's west facade is also clad in brick, with a projecting blank brick wall running up the full height of the middle of the west elevation, enclosing the tower's core.

The rest of the facade consists of curtain wall with windows that have darker-colored glass panels at both the tops and bottoms, and each window divided by thin steel mullions and spandrels. Four panes correspond to each bay at the base. The south, east, and north facades set back above the 11th floor. The 12th & 31st floors are double-height and contains mechanical equipment, as do the top two floors. The mechanical floors have black metal vents in place of windows. The lower level on 48th Street is occupied by New York Sports Clubs.

Many countries have their United Nations diplomatic missions located here including Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain and Denmark. This is also home to the New York offices of the World Health Organization and both the World Bank and the IMF (International Monetary Fund).

The lobby was renovated by Studios Architecture in 2011.

studios.com/projects/1_dag_hammarskjold_plaza/