Peace Pentagon Headquarters (Hub)

Concept Design, 2010

For 40 years the building at 339 Lafayette Street in Manhattan has been home base to various peace initiatives and acquired its affectionate “Peace Pentagon” nickname through this work. In 2010, prompted by the need for extensive repairs to the existing building, the Peace Pentagon launched a competition seeking architectural proposals that would engage the neighborhood and also support the building’s activist community. 

In collaboration with Jason Allen and Gerald Del Priore, Nash proposed to turn the building skin into a messaging system. We found inspiration in the Peace Pentagon tenants’ longtime tradition of displaying multiple, scrappy hand-made banners across the outside of the building, which is located at a high-traffic intersection in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood.  Our proposal used a “flip-dot” system to broadcast multiple messages through a single banner.  Developed in the 1960s for highway signage, flip dot technology offers a reliable, low-cost, low energy option for dynamic signage that allows for multiple images and text to broadcast with real-time public interaction.  Although the building is privately owned and not open to the public, by broadcasting on the outside of the building, the organizations could engage several city blocks in a dynamic way. 

In addition to the messaging capabilities of the building skin, our proposal integrated sustainability systems into the renovated building’s core structure and mechanical systems. Specifically, the building uses a “solar thermal” system to harvest the sun’s energy and integrate it into a water-based “hydronic” mechanical system, providing not only domestic hot water but displacing cooling loads in the summer and providing direct heating in the winter. It’s a rare and wonderful site with lots of sun exposure in NYC.

Project Size: 25,000 square feet / 150 users; Our Role: Architect