United Nations General Assembly in New York City

New York

United Nations General Assembly Building

Reroof with minimal interruption to international policy-making operations

  • Category

    Roofing Solutions, Overburden Solutions
  • Completed

    2015
  • Type

    Commercial Building
  • Size

    700 squares

Challenge

The General Assembly Building at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City is where 193 Member States meet annually to vote on international matters brought to the General Assembly, the main policy-making organ of the UN. Built in 1952, the building’s saddle-shaped design with a distinct concave roof represented the modernization of building technology after World War II. As its original roof reached the end of its service life, a reroof was required and became part of the UN Headquarters $2.1 million renovation project. But maintaining operations and accommodating the General Assembly’s schedule posed some challenges.

Solution

For the reroof, a Siplast SBS-modified roof system and NVS lightweight insulating concrete (LWIC) were selected as the solutions to help facilitate minimal interruption to the UN General Assembly Hall’s operations.

  • Reroofable LWIC
    A new nailed base sheet was installed over the existing reroofable lightweight insulating concrete deck, which helped save on time, reduce waste, and minimize disruption to the General Assembly’s operations.
  • Robust roof for long-term performance
    Two layers of Paradiene® 20 base ply, followed by a Paradiene® 30 FR TG granule-surfaced finish ply, were installed. This SBS-modified bitumen roofing system provides exceptional durability and longevity to the building’s uniquely concave roof.
  • Siplast solutions selected again
    This particular reroofing project was the latest in several other successful United Nations General Assembly Building projects, in which Siplast solutions were specified to protect the historic structure.

Specifying Siplast systems for this project provided long-term protection for this landmark building and helped avoid interruption of its day-to-day, critically important operations.

Light Weight Insulating Concrete Solutions

Environmentally Responsible Roofing and Waterproofing Solutions

In the 1970s with the development of Teranap, our original vegetated roofing product. Since then, Siplast’s product offering has evolved to include a full range of environmentally responsible, high performance roofing and waterproofing solutions. These products meet a variety of criteria established by the U.S. EPA Energy Star program, California Title 24 Part 6, and the United States Green Building Council LEED v4 program. Learn more about our brand of Environmentally Responsible Roofing and Waterproofing Solutions, our history, and our dedication to innovation.