THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS BUILDING
In choosing the design of the League of Nations Assembly Hall and Secretariat, the committee of diplomats who took upon themselves the functions which the Jury of Assessors were admittedly incapable of discharging, were obliged to steer for safety, and on the whole they may be congratulated upon their decision, for the design of MM. Henri Paul Nenot, of Paris, and M. Julien Plegenheimer, of Geneva, has the merit of being a stately and dignified composition, in a style not likely to be altogether out of fashion for many years to come. It would, indeed, have been well if the design were destined to be executed in its present form, but owing to diplomatic pressure, it has been decided to allow several of the other architects, whose work was premiated in the original competition, to collaborate in a new scheme. This latter will be based upon the present one, it is true, but there appears to be a danger that a hotch-potch will be decided upon composed of features derived from several distinct designs. The utmost one can hope for is that before building actually commences, the scheme finally decided upon will be published and thus be exposed to a certain amount of criticism, both lay and professional.
As at present designed, the plan has several admirable features. Entrances under the grand
colonnade lead to an immense hall or foyer. This is well conceived, for the dignity of the League will be enhanced by this architectural arrangement whereby immediately on entering the building, visitors find themselves in such a spacious atmosphere. This foyer will perform the function of an informal meeting place, where members of the League will congregate in private conversation among themselves or with others desiring to communicate with them.
The plan is well conceived. The corner entrances to the Assembly Hall give access to this chamber from all parts of the building, while the Secretarial offices, closely grouped around a smaller quadrangle, are more conveniently disposed than if spread on the periphery of the main building, as was the case in some of the other designs. The elevations are orderly and decorous, and the grand colonnade with attics rising towards the centre is an effective composition.
St. Hilda’s Headstone, found with others on the site of the Saxon Monastery at Hartlepool, which has been preserved in the Ipswich Museum for the past eighty years, is now, by consent of the Ipswich Corporation, to be transferred to the Museum at Hartlepool, of which place the saint was once abbess.
LEAGUE of NATIONS BUILDING: SELECTED DESIGN.
MM. Henri Paul Nenot and Julien Flegenheimer, Architects, Paris and Geneva.
In choosing the design of the League of Nations Assembly Hall and Secretariat, the committee of diplomats who took upon themselves the functions which the Jury of Assessors were admittedly incapable of discharging, were obliged to steer for safety, and on the whole they may be congratulated upon their decision, for the design of MM. Henri Paul Nenot, of Paris, and M. Julien Plegenheimer, of Geneva, has the merit of being a stately and dignified composition, in a style not likely to be altogether out of fashion for many years to come. It would, indeed, have been well if the design were destined to be executed in its present form, but owing to diplomatic pressure, it has been decided to allow several of the other architects, whose work was premiated in the original competition, to collaborate in a new scheme. This latter will be based upon the present one, it is true, but there appears to be a danger that a hotch-potch will be decided upon composed of features derived from several distinct designs. The utmost one can hope for is that before building actually commences, the scheme finally decided upon will be published and thus be exposed to a certain amount of criticism, both lay and professional.
As at present designed, the plan has several admirable features. Entrances under the grand
colonnade lead to an immense hall or foyer. This is well conceived, for the dignity of the League will be enhanced by this architectural arrangement whereby immediately on entering the building, visitors find themselves in such a spacious atmosphere. This foyer will perform the function of an informal meeting place, where members of the League will congregate in private conversation among themselves or with others desiring to communicate with them.
The plan is well conceived. The corner entrances to the Assembly Hall give access to this chamber from all parts of the building, while the Secretarial offices, closely grouped around a smaller quadrangle, are more conveniently disposed than if spread on the periphery of the main building, as was the case in some of the other designs. The elevations are orderly and decorous, and the grand colonnade with attics rising towards the centre is an effective composition.
St. Hilda’s Headstone, found with others on the site of the Saxon Monastery at Hartlepool, which has been preserved in the Ipswich Museum for the past eighty years, is now, by consent of the Ipswich Corporation, to be transferred to the Museum at Hartlepool, of which place the saint was once abbess.
LEAGUE of NATIONS BUILDING: SELECTED DESIGN.
MM. Henri Paul Nenot and Julien Flegenheimer, Architects, Paris and Geneva.