CFA 17/FEB/11-5

Location

Pentagon
Arlington, VA
United States

Owner
U.S. Department of Defense
Property
Pentagon
Description
North Rotary and Fern Access Control Point--new vehicular security screening facility
Review Type
Final

Letter

Dear Mr. Battle:

In its meeting of 17 February, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed the proposed design for the North Rotary Road and Fern Street access control point and approved the submission with several comments.

The Commission members supported the proposal to coordinate the details of the screening area canopies with those of the nearby Metro and commuter bus transportation facilities. They recommended that the finish details for the gatehouse and guard station buildings in this proposal be similarly coordinated with those of other recently approved structures, such as the access control points for Corridors 2 and 3. In addition, the Commission reiterated its comments from the review of these access control points in January 2011 and requested that the comments from the previous action letter be included as they are applicable to this and other future projects:

Observing that these new entrances will constitute new gateways to the Pentagon and should be treated accordingly, the Commission members recommended clarifying the relationship of the entrance portal structures to the Pentagon building itself. They suggested consideration of limestone rather than cast stone as the cladding material; they also recommended detailing the new masonry to reflect the language and profiles of either the existing bridges or the historic Pentagon building. They requested that more detailed information be provided for both the general site context and the construction details in future submissions.

The Commission looks forward to the review of future proposals from the Department of Defense for the Pentagon’s other entrances and site facilities. As always, the staff is available to assist you with future submissions.

Sincerely,

/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary

William J. Battle, Senior Project/Program Manager
Engineering and Technical Services Division
Department of Defense
1155 Defense Pentagon, Suite 5D325
Washington, DC 20301-1155

cc: Christopher Garner, Wiley Wilson