Reconstruction of the United Nations Headquarters in New York

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, one of the most prestigious German daily newspapers, published more details in yesterday's edition about the planned reconstruction of the UN headquarters in New York. The building, which was started by Wallace H. Harrison in 1949, was co-designed by Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier, among others.
After half a century, the building is preparing for a complete reconstruction. While a zero-interest loan was once approved for the construction by the US Congress, the UN must now borrow the necessary amount of $1.25 billion at regular interest rates. Due to the war in Iraq, the budget for the reconstruction had to be reduced from the original $1.9 billion.
A particularly pressing problem of the construction is the inadequate state of the air conditioning from 1952, which can somewhat hyperbolically be set to only two temperature levels: “cold war” and “greenhouse effect.” While everyone on the eastern side of the building facing the East River is sweating and demanding more effective cooling, the remaining workers on the western side of the skyscraper have to freeze – and vice versa. The reconstruction is expected to start at the end of June this year, and one can only hope that by the time the repairs are completed in 2015, the new air conditioning in the UN building will also contribute to improving the climate in world politics.
For interest, it is worth noting that the façade of the skyscraper consists of single-layer glazing and that a significant amount is spent on heating or cooling the building. Link>