U.N. North Delegates’ Lounge – Color Palette
Year: 2011
Material: diverse
Dimensions: diverse
Commission: United Nations/ Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Industrial production
The existing colors of the public spaces of the U.N. buildings have turned grayish. In the more private spaces the colors are surprisingly warm in hue, sometimes even strikingly outspoken and intense. The Scandinavian origins are visible in the greens, blues and reddish browns. In the North Delegates’ Lounge the color palette of the existing artworks is dominant.
All new colors were chosen after various analyses were made of the former color palette of the U.N. In order to create a counterweight to the forces on the wall, a subdued neutral color was chosen for the curtains and the carpet. The color of the carpet should serve to ground the variety of furniture and is in line with the colors in the corridor of the Conference Building. The colors of the upholstery of the furniture show a contemporary variation of the greens, the blues and the reddish browns which are predominant colors within the U.N.. For these new fabrics, a weave is designed of weft and warp in duo tones: each thread reappears in more than one fabric, while the other thread is changed, creating color families.
In the past, throughout the North Delegates’ Lounge various woods were to be found. In the re-newed lounge a variety of woods and their colors, from dark brown to whitewashed oak, will alternate with the grey of the aluminum South wall, the many hues of the weaves of upholstery, carpet and curtains, and a few crisp colors, such as the green of the café tables and the ice blue in the North Façade Curtain, the hood of the Internet Table and the SideTables.