Letter
Dear Mr. Westrick:
In its public meeting of 18 June conducted by videoconference, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed a concept design for two projects adjacent to the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial at the Pentagon Reservation in Arlington, Virginia: a public restroom building and a commercial vehicle inspection facility. Expressing its preference to reduce the scale, massing, and visual impact of the proposed structures, the Commission did not take an action and made the following recommendations.
The Commission members observed that the proposed buildings would be too prominent, given their utilitarian use; they recommended studying ways to make them more appropriately subordinate within the context of the memorial, such as by lowering the roadway and canopy into the grade and creating a berm between the memorial and the inspection facility. They observed that the use of a strongly articulated gridded cladding for the buildings contributes to their excessive prominence, and they advised using a single cladding material—possibly metal panels—in a more muted color to make them appear as simple, subordinate structures within their context. In addition, they noted the potential impact of the staging and queueing of commercial vehicles as they enter the inspection station, and they encouraged the project team to mitigate these visual and operational effects on the context of the Pentagon.
Please continue consulting on the development of these projects with the staff which, as always, is available to assist you.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
David Westrick, Director
Engineering and Construction
Division Washington Headquarters Services
Department of Defense
1156 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1155
cc: Jean O’Toole, Dewberry