GENEVA’S GREAT PALACE

Evening Star, Issue 22069, 1 July 1935, Page 10

GENEVA’S GREAT PALACE

LEAGUE OF NATIONS’ TWO MILLION POUNDS BUILDING " ~ i * MOST MODERN STRUCTURE IN EUROPE The eyes of the world have been fixed upon the League of Nations recently. The conferences at Geneva, which have contributed towards forming the destiny of post-war Europe, have been held 'in a building—actually an adapted hotel—which is unworthy of such great events. A makeshift structure at the best, it has been added to and supplemented from time to time. . . It has now outlived its usefulness, and it is perhaps a happy augury that just when the League has successfully survived the greatest trial since its inception, the new Palace of the League of Nations is on the eve of completion. It is to be a Pantheon of peace, and its portals will be ever open to messengers of goodwill and the _ emissaries of international co-operation. It is the most ambitiously conceived modern structure in Europe (writes Noel Panter, in the London ‘ Daily Telegraph ’)• An idea of its size may be gained from the following facts: — The total length is about 400yds. It has 1,600 windows and as many doors. Its volume is about 400,000 cubic metres, or approximately that of the Palace of Versailles. The total electric power for lighting, heating, and ventilation works out at roughly 3,000 horse power; while the wiring, if extended in a single filament, would form a girdle round the Lake of Geneva. BUILDING FUND BY THE NATIONS. There are more than 100 dynamos hnd motors. There are 22 passenger and goods lifts. The building stands in grounds of about 56 acres, and is sufficiently far removed from rail and road traffic to ensure tranquility and pleasant conditions. From the > terraces and gardens an entrancing view may lie obtained of the blue-tinted lake and the distant, white-capped summit of Mont Blanc. The total cost amounts to about L2.ni0.000. This sum is made up of contributions to the building fund by the nations which are members of the League, in proportion to their subscriptions to the League budget, and large gifts. The whole .of the structural work is now finished 1 The internal fitting of the secretariat is nearing completion. The painting is almost finished, and a large proportion of the lighting has been installed. Even the linoleum has been laid in some of the office floors. In spite of this, no definite date for the opening ceremony can be given, but it is certain to take place this year. The construction was by public tender, and was completed by firms of various nationalities. The structural work was done by Swiss, French, and Italian concerns, while to British manufacturers was entrusted the making of steel window frames and the library shelving. The new palace is a building devoid of needless embellishment. The lines are on the classical model, blended with the modern conception of creating effects, not by decorative art, but by the grouping of surfaces. The architects have renounced pillars and architraves in order to subordinate and conceal the mechanics of construction. The five architects responsible for the plans are:— H. P. Nenot, who acted as president of the Architectural Committee, and was a member of the French Institute. 'He was the architect of the Sorbonne. Aged about 83, he was killed only recently in a motoring accident. •

Jules Flegenheimer, who collaborated with him in drawing up a joint plan, i« a Genevese architect.

Camille Lefevre, a Frenchman, is now inspector of the national buildings in Paris.

Carlo Broggi, an Italian, is the director of constructions, on whose shoulders has rested the responsibility of superintending the building operations.

M. Vago is a Hungarian architect. The above were found by a jury of experts to be the most successful candidates in an international competition under the auspices 7 of the League. The final plans were arrived at by co-operation of these architects according to a mutually agreed scheme, which embraced certain specifications laid down by the League secretariat. yAST LIBRARY ON TEN FLOORS.

The left of the building will be the home of the secretariat. Here there are five floors of approximately 600 offices, iq addition to committee rooms. In two basement floors will be housed the archives and files of documents.

On the extreme right is the library building, with 10 floors of books, containing about 1,500,000 volumes. Here there are two large and magnificently equipped reading rooms. One is devoted entirely to periodicals and the other to books. A museum, rows of apartments for study, in an upper floor, and technical reference libraries on subjects such as hygiene, medicine, geography, and political economy, complete this side of the building. In the centre is the vast Assembly Hall, which can accommodate about 2,500 people. On the ground floor will be the delegates with their expert advisers, secretaries, and translators, while in three galleries the Press and public will be accommodated.

Near the hall are largo committee roms, each of which can seat about 300 visitors. In the wings near the central block are a further 12 committee rooms, varying from 100 square metres to 350 square metres in size, and each accommodatin'- from 100 to 800 people. At the top of the Assembly building a large restaurant will be installed. In the summer its open terraces, giving an unobstructed view of the beautiful surroundings, will provide relaxation for delegates and their friends. The heating and ventilation of this .vast structure was one of the main problems confronting the architects. It js believed that it has been ideally solved. In the cellars there are large ventilating and refrigerating plants. There are also six mammoth boilers with automatically regulated burners STATE AND PRIVATE GIFTS. The new palace will owe much to the munificence of foreign Governments and citizens. Mr John Rockefeller, jun., for instance, contributed 2,000,000d0l (equivalent to £400,000 at par) to cover the cost of the library building. Other wealthy have made valuable gifts, while foreign Governments have vied with one another in contributing items such as furniture, sculpture, and decorations. The British Government is playing its part in this important work. The Republic and Canton of Geneva constructed free of charge the disarmament building in a section of the present League. The Swiss Government has now guaranteed to pay an adequate sum for the whole of the old building. This will provide valuable relief to the building fund. The foundation stone of the new palace, .which has b§eji llm object of