Electric Feel

Our proposal for a new Peace Pentagon seeks to address the conflicting demands set out by “Friends of 339”. Understanding the existing building to be structurally unfit for renovation/addition, economically insufficient to sustain itself, and spatially inadequate to foster a collective emotional experience, this project employs two sustainable systems: natural ventilation and solar energy. The enclosed space of the tower is set back 4 feet from its neighbor. This provides a continuous vertical shaft that performs as a natural (filtered air) ventilation chase. Each floor contains operable clerestory windows that regulate air flow. Solar energy is used on the envelope and the rooftop. Solar “Sunflowers” are distributed at key locations on the envelope that perform to illuminate the filigree tubes through fiber optics. Similar to bio-luminescence, at night the envelope becomes an electrified field of changing colored light. The palette is that of the rainbow, representing the universal colors of peace and serving as a beacon in the city.