Background and History

 

The Edgar J. Kaufmann Conference Center interiors were formerly located within the Institute of International Education at 809 United Nations Plaza; they were designed by Alvar Aalto and completed in 1964. The center is one of only four surviving works in America by Aalto and was commissioned by Edgar Kaufmann Jr., whose family owned the Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece Fallingwater. During the design process, Aalto closely collaborated with his wife, the architect Alissa Aalto, who personally selected the room’s textiles. The Conference Center was one of New York City’s great Modernist interior spaces.

 

Located across from the United Nations building, the Kaufmann Conference Center was used to host visitors and conferences until the building was sold in 1998. Being a private space, the interior failed to receive New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designation as an interior landmark in 1998 and in 2016. Although, the space has been closed to the public for over two decades, the Docomomo US New York/Tri-State chapter held a reception in the space in 2014.

 

The Kaufmann Conference Center includes an elevator lobby clad in curved blue tile, a large reception hall and two smaller rooms that are sub-dividable with partitions. Although entering into a smaller compressive lobby, stepping into the reception hall reveals an expansive, light-filled space with window louvers, an undulating plaster ceiling peppered with gold pendant lights, and a bent wood wall relief sculpture. The space is marked by classic Alvar Aalto architectural details including tile, wood wall ribs, and bronze door hardware. The custom furniture, lighting and draperies were designed by both Elissa and Alvar Aalto. Although the walls were framed on-site, all other elements including lighting, wood details, furniture, tile, and draperies were manufactured in Finland, shipped over, and installed. The large, forest-like wall relief sculpture was constructed by Alvar Aalto himself in his Helsinki studio prior to its dismantling and shipment to New York.

Update

 

After months of discussions with our Finnish colleagues, the Alvar Aalto Foundation along with the Consulate General of Finland in New York, Finnish Cultural Institute in New York and managing firm Office of Tangible Space have released a press release regarding the future of the interior. While we are disappointed the interior could not have remained in situ, Docomomo US is grateful to our colleagues for mobilizing and protecting this very important piece of our legacy.

 

More on Securing the Future of the Interior

 

The Conference Center, situated within a large private tower building, is considered one of the most important Modernist interior spaces in the United States. Despite the support of Aalto enthusiasts and several attempts made for protecting the space, it never received the LPC landmark status. As the future of this important space was in limbo, through negotiations led by the Consulate General of Finland in New York, it was determined that the Alvar Aalto Foundation would become the steward of the contents of the interiors and find a new home for them in public view into the future.

 

The project to dismantle the 4500 square foot interior has been a major endeavor. Alvar Aalto Foundation, in collaboration with the Consulate General of Finland in New York and Finnish Cultural Institute in New York tapped interdisciplinary architecture studio Office of Tangible Space to manage the project. The firm’s attention to detail at many scales (architecture, interiors, and furniture fabrication) and close ties to Finnish design made them a clear choice.

 

Click here to read the entire press release and for a link to photography and additional resources on the project.