Letter
Dear Mr. Solomon:
At it's 21 November meeting, the Commission reviewed the concept proposal by Moshe Safdie for a new headquarters building for the United States Institute of Peace, to be located at the comer of 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue, NW. The members unanimously approved the submission and were pleased with the bold and dynamic configuration of the building. However, there were several issues raised during the discussion that warrant additional study.
The first was a concern with the overall scale of the structure. In this location the building will function not only as a gateway and the terminal point for the procession of buildings on the north side of Constitution Avenue, but will also act as a fulcrum at the end of the National Mall as one turns the corner into the precinct of the John F. Kennedy Center. It may be a matter of revising the scale only a few degrees, but it will be valuable revisiting this issue to achieve perfection in the form/site/context relationship. In this special place the building should be large enough to anchor the comer, but not so large that it competes with the Lincoln.Memorial. The same can be said about the building's lighting. With its translucent roofs, the levels of light, in and around the building, should be carefully considered and studied so that, again, it does not compete with the Lincoln Memorial lis the western terminus of the National Mall.
We look forward to the review of the revised concept design, including provisions for perimeter security, and the preliminary selection of materials. The staff is available to assist as needed.
Sincerely,
/s/
Harry G. Robinson III, FAIA
Chairman
Mr. Richard H. Solomon
President
United States Institute of Peace
1200 17th.Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036-3011
cc: Charles E. Nelson, VP;USIP
Moshe Safdie, FAlA, Moshe Safdie & Associates Inc.