DC NOMA TOURS THE PENTAGON
On September 11, 2001, terrorist forces attacked the Pentagon. At the time of the attack, the facility had already commenced a major renovation. The DC Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (DCNOMA) was given a tour of the renovation efforts just days prior to completion of the punch list. This tour was coordinated by Ms. Michelle Chin of DCNOMA, employed by AMEC Construction Management, Inc. and conducted by George Jackson, Communications Specialist, Pentagon Renovation Program.
The Pentagon, constructed during World War II was completed in 1942. The facility houses 25,000 employees. When completed, its 900,000 square feet made it the largest office building in the world. Currently, it ranks approximately sixth and is still the worlds largest low-rise office facility. In the early nineties, it was listed on the National Register of Historic places, and as a result of this listing all renovation efforts must comply with Historic Preservation and maintain the Historic Fabric of the facility.
In addition to the Architectural insight acquired from the tour, there was an emotional and spiritual aura as the tour guide stated: "You are now standing at ground zero." or "The 757 approached from that direction." or "Impact was at that location at this angle." or "The time capsule is located here." or "Here we have one of the Memorial Plaques." or "Can you tell the difference between this 'B' ring wall constructed in 1942 and this 'C' ring wall constructed in 2002". Thanks in part to Twenty-four -seven scheduled Mobilization, Demolition and Site preparation and Twenty-six scheduled Completion and punch out, "The Phoenix Project" as it is referred to, is ahead of schedule and will be occupied prior to September 11, 2002.
Our tour included information regarding the state of the art upgrades and code compliance measures being undertaken, and the modifications made to that program post 9-11, including:
¨ Utilization of Sustainable Architecture
¨ Green Architecture
¨ Terrorist prevention techniques
¨ Emergency egress upgrades and ADA compliance features
¨ Phosphorescent indicators and markers
¨ Matrix based-Independent Task and Time CM scheduling and software
As is always the case when Architects gather, there were numerous debates over design, schedules, details, colors and textures, however, everyone agreed the tour was absolutely phenomenal.
Again our sincere thanks
to Ms. Chin, Mr. Jackson and the Pentagon Renovation Program.
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| NOMA Tour Group | Days left to Completion | New Facade | |
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| Tour Guide George Jackson | |||
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| Floor Level Exit Signage | |||
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| New Construction | Original Construction | ||
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| Commemorative Stone | |||
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| Original Hallway | New Hallway | Fire Separation Door | Fire Separation Door |
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| Central Courtyard |