Diplomatic Interiors Conference

The UN Library & Archives Geneva was pleased to be part of the international academic conference "Diplomatic Interiors: Spaces, Practices, and Infrastructures in Historical Perspective", hosted by the gta Institute (ETH Zurich) and CDHM (Geneva Graduate Institute) from 19 to 21 November 2025. This fascinating series of panels and visits brought together academics, researchers and interested practitioners to explore the historical relationships between interior spaces and diplomacy.  

On Friday 21 November, the conference took place at UN Geneva. Day three offered participants a guided tour through the Palais des Nations, followed by discussions with UN Geneva colleagues on how history and evolution meet through the ongoing renovation of these historic spaces. Then, in Room VIII, the Roundtable on Archival Sources for Studying Diplomatic Interiors brought together archival practitioners and architectural historians to reflect on some fascinating questions shaping the study of diplomatic interiors, from the voices present and absent in the archives, to the preservation of records, and the role archives play in capturing the development of diplomatic spaces over time. 

The roundtable participants included Blandine Blukacz-Louisfert (Chief, Institutional Memory Section, UN Library & Archives Geneva), Fredie Floré (Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, and full professor in the history and theory of interior architecture, KU Leuven), Olga Touloumi (Associate Professor of Architectural History, Bard College), Denise Hagströmer (PhD (RCA), design historian, and appointed Senior Curator at the National Museum, Oslo in 2013), and Giorgio Ennas (Postdoctoral Fellow, Utrecht University).  

Thank you to Charlotte Rottiers, Andreas Kalpakci and Davide Rodogno for organizing this conference. For more information, visit the Diplomatic Interiors Conference website.