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THE PALACE AT GENEVA

LEAGUE MpVES TO NEW HOME

BUILDING COVERING FIVE ACRES

Croou oua own coebbbpondeht.) ; - i LONDON-, February 28.

After 15 years in temporary quarters at the Quai Wilson, the Secretariat of the League of Nations now moves to the Palais des Nations, the vast block of buildings that has been erected for it in Ariana Park, on the heights above Pregny, states;: the Geneva correspondent of “The Times." With this move the initial stage in its inauguration may be said to have come to a close and a new era to have begun. Since 1920 the Secretariat of the league has occupied the buildings of the old Hotel National, bought for it from the Geneva Government for 6,500,000 Swiss francs. After a brief period for the organisation of its staff in London the Secretariat began occupation on October 1, 1920. The arrangement was convenient for; the moment, but the building was from the first unsuited to offices and* inadequate M size. 4 The services of, the league soon overflowed into the neighbouring blocks of flats and into adjacent villas. The Council Hall was the conservatory lounge of the old hotel, and there was no adequate buildings for the assembly, for which the league was obliged to borrow the. building of the Conseil General on the other side of the town. TVie -wViple was xeiriiniscexiV oi- IVie temporary offices of mushroom ministries in war-tune. Yet six years elapsed before the league council decided to build a permanent home for the league worthy of its importance and suitable for its work. Even then the project passed through a number of strange vicissitudes before it took practicable shape.

Plans Considered

At a meeting of the assembly in March, 1926, it was decided to promote a competition among architects, with prizes, for plans for a league building on the shores of the lake, a little beyond the site of the Hotel National.. This was ih place of earlier proposals which had contemplated building an extra floor on to the hotel and adding “annexes” on the surrounding gardens. Fortunately it was decided not to proceed with this sorry makeshift.

A jury of experts was appointed to judge the thousands of designs sent in by the 377 architects of all nations competing, on which Great Britain was represented by Sir John Burnet. But it was found that the architects had taken insufficient account of the practical requirements, and none of the plans was accepted. The original site chosen was on the shores of the lake, beyond *the public garden of Mon Repos, where two parks had been acquired and covetous eyes had been cast upon

1 a certain villa. Into the control versy that raged round this of placing so large a building the shore of the lake and ently preventing the town of from extending its lakeside prom-j|| enades was much; criticised 'hy/the|| Geneva people, while the queshph|| of an act of expropriation almost too delicate to be handlpd!;|-}^ The matter was settled by the;di|||| covery that the terrain wbidd. inadequate, and other land-had -tomr* sought. The town then offered‘ :i mi exchange; it acquired the property of the * league and surreni|j dared' a large part of the Afiana, situated on the other the railway line to Lausanne, wU|sl an area of about 255,000 r squffl||| yards. This was effected in her,/1928. -' The League Palace , Meanwhile the plan which hp(jy|| ultimately been accepted—thatMM. Nenot and Flegenheimer—to be greatly modified. After much"! expert and other discussion, it was|| amended in consultation with ,the||| Secretariat, and the stone was laid on one,of the lawfisfi of the ArianaPark on September 1929. Even this arrangement vu|E much criticised. The lake site woiudl| at least have been easily while Ariana lies at some distanwfl from the. town on the fringe of country and is altogether ; far ■ conveniently situated, a town like Geneva, where : transport problem is .in its infancy But in some respects the exchange served : both- the league and ti»l| town. Geneva was able to its parks and promenades, and maksv| them the thing of beauty they nofj are, and the league was able doli modify its plans to include, ttejji magnificent library for which-;.feMj||| Rockefeller had just . :givpii| 2,000,000 dollars. ■ ‘ ■JB The result is the League Palace sb|| it stands to-day. Its ground plsjfcpl covers,-about the same area as Chateau of Versailles, both roughly five acres. Some AOdofftpafej were needed for the Secret&WSp halls, and rooms for the Council, for the assembly, and iwai committees, lobbies, roomspress, restaurants, a post office wlgfel telephone. equipment on a scale, a bank, and so forth. Though in appearance the range of white stone classical- build?;* ings seems a continuous whole is really composed of -three separatpi buildings, a long irregular court the Secretariat, one wing of is to house the council, the . '■■l&sm sembly building, which forms jWa| back of the Court of Honour, facing the lake, and the library which constitutes the far side this court. From the great portico of the sembly building: the land falls away-p? in a series of steps and with a clear view across the foot- . fi hills to the Alps of Savoy. On *b.® side towards Geneva the wing is entered from a piazza, the Place des Nations.; *;• through an imposing gateway, which' / leads, into a quiet: and digniMl& courtyard where the massive portions of the rest of the buildings -/ can be appreciated. Seen froxn" across the lake one gets the' mm* pression of a long white flat-topped classical range that Has not yet nad* flowed into the dark landscape. ■■^3 The assembly hall is one of the largest of its kind in the world.. It V' wUI apcomttlodate, some 2000. sons', and some of its nine committee {■# rooms are large enough for meetf?-?: ings of 500 persons. The properties are said to be excellent, .y.

Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19360327.2.21

Bibliographic details

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21743, 27 March 1936, Page 8

Word Count
975

THE PALACE AT GENEVA Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21743, 27 March 1936, Page 8

THE PALACE AT GENEVA Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21743, 27 March 1936, Page 8

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