#unog

Happy World Radio Day, world!

In my usual posts, I am generally focused on discussing emerging technology and the future. But today, I want to talk about something that took ten years to "load," requires no electricity, and offers a kind of tactile mindfulness that a screen simply cannot replicate.

I am talking about the Palais des Nations - not the one in Geneva, but the one you can build on your desk.

TL;DR: if you are interested in getting your own Palais made from LEGO®, register your interest (link) to help ensure it gets made!

The Backstory: A Decade in the Making

Back in December 2014, while working within the historic walls of the Palais des Nations in Geneva, I had a coffee with CJ Hendrix. Amidst the architectural grandeur of the Palais, we had a "what if" moment: What if we could recreate the Palais out of LEGO® bricks?

Life happened. Careers evolved. But the idea never truly left the "cache."

Fast forward to recently: CJ launched his own custom LEGO kit design firm, BrickSpeak Studio, and that decade-old conversation was rebooted. CJ decided to make the dream a reality, taking the lead on the intricate design and engineering required to capture the Palais into a precise, modular masterpiece.

The "Analog" Advantage

You might wonder why a tech enthusiast is so excited about plastic bricks.

In tech, we deal with things that feel very temporary and not so tactile. We build code that updates, hardware that obsoletes, and data that lives in the cloud. There is a specific, therapeutic joy in analog building. It’s kind of a "system reset" for the brain.

When you build a model like the Palais:

Latency is zero: Every brick you snap into place is a tangible result.

The UI is tactile: You feel the history of the Assembly Hall and the Council Chamber through your fingertips.

It’s offline by design: No notifications, no pings. Just focus.

My Role: The Data Provider

To keep things transparent: I have no financial stake in this project. My involvement is pure cheerleading for something that I think is really cool. Plus, I want to be able to order one for myself.

However, I did get to act as a kind of "archivist." I dug through my personal archives to provide CJ with high-quality, copyright-free photos of the Palais’s hidden nooks and architectural nuances. Seeing those photos transformed into a physical kit has been incredibly rewarding.

Why This Matters

The Palais des Nations represents the heart of modern diplomacy. It’s a place where I spent years of my career and developed a deep respect for its mission. To see it captured in this medium - part art, part puzzle, part history lesson - is special.

The catch? This will only get made if there is enough interest. So, I am sharing this because, selfishly, I want to make sure the order threshold is met. I want to get my hands on one!

-------

Q&A with CJ Hendrix (BrickSpeak)

To give you a deeper look into the process, I chatted with CJ to ask about the "specs" of this build.

Q: We first talked about this way back in 2014. What was the hardest part of finally "rendering" the Palais into bricks after all these years?

The hardest design choices are always which details to include and which to exclude. LEGO models are seldom scale models, but rather evoke the subject, capturing the most important shapes and details here and there. Deciding what to include, and exclude, is a big part of the process. 

Q: Why did you choose the flag gate as the subject?

With such a large and complex building, the primary design difficulty is choosing which part to capture. A large model capturing the whole Palais and grounds would be cost prohibitive, so I had to decide which part is most iconic to most people. I'm sure some people would have preferred the Celestial Sphere and its surroundings, others the newer and very modern H building. But I think for most people the flag entrance is iconic, and it is the entrance I used when I first started working there, so it's near and dear to my heart.

Q: In a digital world, why do you think people are still drawn to these high-end, complex physical builds?

LEGO, the company, has been the largest toy maker in the world for many years and continues to grow. A large part of the growth has been the expansion of models targeting adult builders. I think that says something about our very human need to make things, to just be still and focused and making something with our own hands. 

Q: You also worked in the Palais. Which specific detail in the kit are you most proud of capturing?

I love the fun detail of the peacocks, which was an idea you suggested, I think. They are such a part of both the mythology and day-to-day life of the Palais. I remember them walking around the garden while I'd be out there eating my lunch. I'm also really proud of the flags. The kit will include a sticker sheet that includes all member and observer nations, whose flags are displayed there, so that builders can choose their favorites.  

Q: This isn’t just a toy; it’s a logistical undertaking. What’s the "tech" behind designing a custom kit like this? It's one thing to snap some bricks together to make a model, but it's a whole different thing when I want to produce many copies of a kit. I have to limit myself to parts that are highly available in the LEGO parts market, and the palette I have to work with shrinks considerably. I've written some software that helps me easily optimize the parts I'm using and identify parts which may be problematic to obtain in the quantities I need. I'm constantly figuring out the most cost-effective way to build something, while still evoking whatever thing I'm trying to capture. It's a kind of 3D-puzzle-solving-optimization problem that I deeply enjoy. Most of my design work is done in a specialized CAD tool for LEGO (LDCad), but eventually I always test the building sequence with real parts (I have an ever-growing library of parts to play with). 

-------

How to Get You Own

If you’re a fan of history, architecture, or just need a reason to step away from the monitor for a few hours, check out the project here (https://brickspeak.studio/palais-des-nations/) and use the link at the top of the page to express your interest.

Let’s bring this piece of history home.

The 2024 Young Activists Summit 'Go far, go together' will be held on 19 November 2024 at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland and online.

Watch the Young Activists Summit 2024!

The 26th Annual Conference of Amended Protocol II of the CCW will take place on 12 November 2024, in Room XIX of the Palais des Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland. It will be presided by Ms. Tsholofelo Tsheole, Deputy Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other International Organizations in Switzerland.

Watch the 2nd Meeting, 26th Annual Conference of Amended Protocol II (CCW)!

Watch the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) - Press Conference: Cluster Munitions Monitor 2024.

Speakers: 

·        Charles Bechara, ICBL-CMC Communications and Media Manager

·        Mary Wareham, Cluster Munition Monitor 2024 Ban Policy Editor

·        Katrin Atkins, Cluster Munition Monitor 2024 Impact Team Senior Researcher

·        Loren Persi, Cluster Munition Monitor 2024 Impact Team Lead 

Launch of the Cluster Munitions Monitor 2024 report

Panel Discussion organized by Switzerland and Sierra Leone on the occasion of Security Council Members visit to Geneva - "75 Years of Geneva Conventions: A Renewed Commitment to Upholding International Humanitarian Law "

Watch the Panel Discussion on 75 Years of Geneva Conventions: A Renewed Commitment to Upholding International Humanitarian Law!

Group of Governmental Experts on Emerging Technologies in the Area of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems Geneva, 4-8 March and 26-30 August 2024.

Watch the 1st Meeting, 2nd Session Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems 2024!

The Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will hold its second session from 22 July to 2 August 2024 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. This will be the second of three planned sessions that...

Watch the 2nd Meeting, Preparatory Committee for NPT Review Conference 2026.