Pentagon | USA

[sdtj]

I think this is an awesome building. Not very tall but I heard this is the biggest building in the world. 10/10


http://www.mth.msu.edu/~ivanov/SatelliteP/Big/pentagon_before800.jpg

http://www.photography-plus.com/images/Pentagon.jpg

http://www.gordon.army.mil/AC/fall01/PENTAGON.JPG

http://www.911thunder.com/911thunderimages/pentagon_before800.jpg

http://jldr.com/pentagon_before.jpg

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/images/pentagon-DF-ST-87-06962_4.jpg

:)

[Wu-Gambino]

9/10

Very massive and symbolic. The facade fits what it is used for, this might fall under ROA though.

[TYW]

just a pentagon, but nice
8/10

[The Messiah]

It's not a architectural high stand,but it's just a massive,symbolic building,with a very nice shape;)
8.0/10

[Jarmo K]

well.... architecturally it's nothing special (in my opinion).

5/10

[Darkknight]

Its just massive thats all!!! Very big!!! and Built to kill!!!!!:D. Ill give it a 6

[zaceman]

um something tells me that one of those pictures is not the pentagon heh heh

[james2390]

7.5/10

[MCarr]

Facts & Figures

The Pentagon—a building, institution, and symbol—was conceived at the request of Brigadier General Brehon B. Sommervell, Chief of the Construction Division of the Office of the Quartermaster General, on a weekend in mid-July 1941. The purpose was to provide a temporary solution to the War Department’s critical shortage of space.The groundbreaking ceremony took place on September 11, 1941. The building was dedicated on January 15, 1943, nearly 16 months to the day after the groundbreaking.

Prime contract awarded 11 August 1941
Mechanical engineering contract awarded 3 September 1941
Construction began 11 September 1941
Grading contract awarded 24 September 1941
First occupants move in 29 April 1942
Construction completed 15 January 1943
Total Land Area (acres) 583
Government Owned (acres) 296
Purchased or condemned (acres) 287
Cost $2,245,000
Area covered by Pentagon bldg (acres) 29
Area of center court (acres) 5
Area of heating and refrigeration plant (acres) 1
Area of sewage structures (acres) 1
Access highways built (miles) 30
Overpasses and bridges built 21
Parking space (acres) 67
Capacity (vehicles) 8,770
Cost of building $49,600,000
Total cost of project (including outside facilities) $83,000,000
Gross floor area (sq. ft.) 6,636,360
Net space for offices, concessions and storage (sq. ft.) 3,705,793
Cubic contents (cu. ft.) 77,015,000
Length of each outer wall (ft.) 921
Height of building (ft.) 77' 3.5"
Number of floors, plus mezzanine and basement 5
Total length of corridors (miles) 17.5

Number of:
Stairways 131
Escalators 19
Elevators 13
Fire hose cabinets 672
Rest Rooms 284
Fixtures 4,900
Drinking fountains 691
Electric clock outlets 7,000
Clocks installed 4,200
Light fixtures 16,250
Lamp replacements (daily) 250
Windows 7,754
Glass area (equals 7.1 acres)(sq. ft.) 309,276

[MCarr]

The Pentagon, headquarters of the Department of Defense, is one of the world's largest office buildings. It is twice the size of the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, and has three times the floor space of the Empire State Building in New York. The National Capitol could fit into any one of the five wedge-shaped sections. There are very few people throughout the United States who do not have some knowledge of the Pentagon. Many have followed news stories emanating from the defense establishment housed in this building. However, relatively few people have had the opportunity to visit with us.

The Pentagon is virtually a city in itself. Approximately 23,000 employees, both military and civilian, contribute to the planning and execution of the defense of our country. These people arrive daily from Washington, D.C. and its suburbs over approximately 30 miles of access highways, including express bus lanes and one of the newest subway systems in our country. They ride past 200 acres of lawn to park approximately 8,770 cars in 16 parking lots; climb 131 stairways or ride 19 escalators to reach offices that occupy 3,705,793 square feet. While in the building, they tell time by 4,200 clocks, drink from 691 water fountains, utilize 284 rest rooms, consume 4,500 cups of coffee, 1,700 pints of milk and 6,800 soft drinks prepared or served by a restaurant staff of 230 persons and dispensed in 1 dining room, 2 cafeterias, 6 snack bars, and an outdoor snack bar. The restaurant service is a privately run civilian operation under contract to the Pentagon.

Over 200,000 telephone calls are made daily through phones connected by 100,000 miles of telephone cable. The Defense Post Office handles about 1,200,000 pieces of mail monthly. Various libraries support our personnel in research and completion of their work. The Army Library alone provides 300,000 publications and 1,700 periodicals in various languages.

Stripped of its occupants, furniture and various decorations, the building alone is an extraordinary structure. Built during the early years of World War II, it is still thought of as one of the most efficient office buildings in the world. Despite 17.5 miles of corridors it takes only seven minutes to walk between any two points in the building.

The original site was nothing more than wasteland, swamps and dumps. 5.5 million cubic yards of earth, and 41,492 concrete piles contributed to the foundation of the building. Additionally, 680,000 tons of sand and gravel, dredged from the nearby Potomac River, were processed into 435,000 cubic yards of concrete and molded into the Pentagon form. The building was constructed in the remarkably short time of 16 months and completed on January 15, 1943 at an approximate cost of $83 million. It consolidated 17 buildings of the War Department and returned its investment within seven years.

[SoboleuS]

I'm not sure how to rate it ;) The architecture is very simple, but also very impressive because of great size of the building ;).
Well... Maybe 7,5/10 ?

[MCarr]

well.... architecturally it's nothing special (in my opinion).

5/10

As you first started to say "Well", Ill start the same way:

Well, the Pentagon, headquarters of the Department of Defense architecturally it's REALLY VERY SPECIAL (in my opinion), and I speak as an architect to say that the Pentagon has what its more important in architecture: a meaning! its a symbol, it tells a story, it represents something, and still its functional!

And the Pentagon its not just a geometric shape, its a shape with both symbolic meaning and functional purposes, and I dont mean as a symbol of the US Department of Defense, but rather what a pentagon geometric shape stands for: its symbolic meanning with five corners which means a bit more than just five corners but also the functional shape well known and used for military defensive fortress since ages.

So for the headquarters of the US Department of Defense, the Pentagon building as a pentagon shape has a defensive purpose and also a symbolic meanning: Perfect 10

P.S.- I rated it for the concept only, as a whole I couldnt rate it so high because of other issues like the parking lot around it, highways aproaches and other few issues.

[rikarchitecten]

Here another sattelite photo of the building:

http://www.vg.no/bilder/wtc/pentagon-sat-2000.jpg

[mhe-ann]

yeah, it's the largest office buildings in the world. I'll like its being Pentagon. I'll give it 9/10.

[amsterdam]

it looks like a building out off space. lol
i don't like it because it's a bunker. where people sitting there thinking how they can conquer the world :horse: . mmm still..... a 8/10 for it massive look :)

[redstone]

I think it is a waste of space to build such a low building.

[Imperfect Ending]

7/10

its so so

[FerrariEnzo]

Quote:it looks like a building out off space. lol
i don't like it because it's a bunker. where people sitting there thinking how they can conquer the world . mmm still..... a 8/10 for it massive look

Damn straight, and Amsterdam is next.

[Matthieu]

7/10

Just a pentagon and very basic to me. The facade has nothing special. Not a lot of decoration, large but not tall.

[Kommentare]

8.5 ;)

[STR]

Just huge in person. When you stand next to it, you can't even tell it has sides. It just goes forever.

Nice tours BTW, but you might have to get tickets by writing your congressman. Though, I went long before 9/11.

[elsonic]

10/10 from the sky and 6/10 from the ground level.

[sdtj]

http://img122.exs.cx/img122/622/r9apentagonr.jpg

[hauntedheadnc]

Symbolic, overwhelming... Not a thing of beauty but it's really not supposed to be. It's attractive enough, does what it's supposed to do, and holds a superlative. I give it a 9.

[DamienK]

7.5/10

[Fabio]

6/10

I don't like it

[Bruckner]

8/10 just for the size of it!

[El_Greco]

8/10

[chukchi]

7/10

[LuckyLuke]

impressive in size :wink2: 7/10

[MeloOn]

Basic ugly architecture.. i give it 5/10 for the good lookin aerial structure

[Phobos]

It's huge but nothing special actually.

5/10

[Medo]

average 7/10

[goschio]

Wonderful!!!

10/10

[Effer]

7/10. Boring.

[BGD]

6 Nothing special

[Sinjin P.]

massive! 10/10

[carfentanyl]

Where are the watchtowers? And has Johnny Cash performed here too? If not, I prefer San Quentin and Folsom... :D

[Blue_Sky]

8/10

[sdtj]

We need a better photo...


http://www.disordered.org/desktop/Pentagon.jpg

[Valia]

7/10

without doubts one the more important building in the world but isnt a great architectonic work

[forvine]

7.5/10

[moonshield]

10/10

Form, function, symbolism all wrapped in one.

Not only is it one of the largest office buildings in the world but it is also one of the more efficient.
Despite 17.5 miles (28 km) of corridors it takes a maximum of seven minutes to walk between any two points in the building
crazy!

[Mosaic]

6/10

[Cabman]

7/10 this is huge

[LMCA1990]

8/10- not very tall and it has simple design, but i like it.

[RiversideGator]

10 of 10. It is huge with an interesting design, well known and recognizable to nearly everyone in the world, and is still being used for its original use after all these years. It is a success on many levels.

[marpa]

8/10

[Pelha]

0/10, sorry but... :bash:

[LordMarshall]

10/10

[Slartibartfas]

6 for being that massive and the geomatrical form. But one can see that it was built during war. There was no time to "waste" money on the look.

WRT the comment of someone on how the land was wasted by the low height of the building. Hm, have a look at the surrounding of the Pentagon. I would say, the parking lots are the waste of land. Just think how much space a multi level parking place would save... not to speak about the seemingly neverending labyrinth of highways around the complex...

[delmaule]

8/10

[cmoonflyer]

8.5/10 !

[B@dGuYoM]

7/10 Huge building, not good looking but very known.

[got pidh?]

to be honest the highways and roads amaze me more lol

[grimmm]

Pentagone is huge. 7/10.

[clarky]

7/10

[IPFrehley]

i think the style is very ordinary. although the sheer size and functionality could make it a wonder

[gutooo]

7.5/10

[delmaule]

8/10

[sdtj]

http://i9.tinypic.com/452ory1.jpg



http://i10.tinypic.com/2s6aexf.jpg

[Daireon]

Many people rated this building because of its symbolic meaning. If I had to rate it because of its symbolism, I'd give it a 3. As one person said here, it was built to kill.... Now giving a more architectonic opinion, I think it's dull, boring and simple, nothing out of this world. Nonetheless, the aerial photos are amazing:D
4/10

[(((myx)))]

8. :D

[Astralis]

3/10

[Fundador]

7/10:)

[W!CKED]

8/10

[eribourb]

JUST AN ( AMERICAN ) KID CAN POST THIS BUILDING ....AS INTRESTING FOR ANY THEMA FOR A HUMAN PACIFIC LIFE IN THE WORLD


http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/3200/begintopostgv8.jpg

[kon133]

9/10
^^

[stasiua]

10/10 icon