华盛顿和平总部，理性与和谐的交汇

United States Institute of Peace Headquarters

Washington, DC

Located at the corner of 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C., the United States Institute of Peace Headquarters occupies the northwest corner of the National Mall, insight of the Lincoln Memorial. As the organization’s first permanent home, the institute’s headquarters is specifically designed to support the critical mission of international conflict management. The program encompasses administrative offices, research facilities including a library and an archive, a conference and negotiation center, and an interactive educational center dedicated to the theme of peacemaking. The architectural concept developed from an extensive exploration of both free-flowing shapes and more mathematical geometries, which resulted in a highly rational series of spherical and toroidal segments. The building is organized around two atria fanning out from a corner entrance—with one atrium facing the Potomac River and the other facing the National Mall and the Lincoln Memorial.

The first atrium serves as the centerpiece for the spaces devoted to scholarly research while the second focuses on public activity and conferences. The image of the building characterizes the institute’s purpose and symbolically represents peace on the capital’s skyline. The atria are roofed by undulating spherical and toroidal winglike elements that are constructed of a steel frame and white glass with an interior translucent white membrane. The glass roofs appear opaque and white on the exterior during the day and glow with white light from within at night—visible among the monuments of the National Mall as well as from the city’s western entry across the bridges from Virginia.