Principles
The following principles, in order to assure commonality of purpose, authenticity, and non-political cultural emphasis, governed the creation of nationality rooms from the programs inception in 1926 until the completion of the Irish Classroom in 1957.
- A Nationality Room must illustrate one of the outstanding architectural or design traditions of a nation that is recognized as such by the United States Department of State.
- The design of a given historical period must be cultural and aesthetic, not political. The period depicted should be prior to 1787, the date of the United States Constitution, with emphasis on cultural roots.
- To avoid political implications in the room, no political symbol is permitted in the decorations, nor a portrait or likeness of any living person.
- The only place a political symbol may be used is in the corridor stone above the room's entrance.
- No donor recognition may appear in the rooms. Donor recognition to the rooms is recorded in a Donor Book.
- Most architects and designers of the rooms have been born and educated abroad. This has been instrumental in ensuring authenticity of design.
In the 1970s, policy revisions were implemented which retaining most of the earlier principles, utilized a broader definition of nation to include a body of people associated with a particular territory and possessing a distinctive cultural and social way of life. This allowed the creation of the Armenian and Ukrainian rooms prior to their establishment as independent nations following the collapse of the Soviet Union, as well as allowing for the installation of the African Heritage Room.
The room must also be a functional teaching classroom with enough student tablet-armed seats, professor's lectern or table, adequate sight lines and lighting, modern audiovisual technology, and other necessities of a classroom. New rooms also have narrated tour equipment. Materials are to remain authentic and durable that are executed through architectural form and not mere surface embellishment and are to provide eternal qualities that have the potential to "teach" about the cultures with appropriate non-political symbols and artifacts.
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