The layout of each floor is inspired by the principle of the courtyard, with a central reception and gathering space that is accessible from the main entrance or elevator lobby, depending on the floor. For all visitors, this courtyard experience begins with a 40-foot-tall entry hall, which serves as the interior’s signature space. Enveloped in natural, serene materials, the hall includes furnishings customized by Lebanese designer Nada Debs – with whom SOM collaborated for furniture on the second floor as well as the executive levels.

The walls, floor, ceiling, and a large sculptural stair are encapsulated in dark, densely veined Northern Canadian limestone. The graining of the stone – a series of ancient layers formed over millennia – express the naturalness of the materiality, and establish that the architecture and finish are one and the same. Throughout the building, both inside and out, the architecture coalesces into a unified expression – one that builds upon an ethos of rigorousness that is essential to SOM’s work. There is a timelessness in its materiality, as a well as a durability.

The permanence of the material will make the new building of the UAE Mission to the UN a lasting work of interior design and architecture.