WORLD BANK MAIN COMPLEX
Won as a result of an invited competition entered with William Pedersen at KPF in 1990, the World Bank Main complex is 2.1 million square feet of new construction and renovation located at 18th street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC.
The building is an allegory for the Banks’ mission. Comprised of over 185 member nations from all parts of the world, the institution has an architecture comprised of a collage of interpenetrating volumes whose clarity results from viewing the ensemble as a whole. A simple palette of board-formed concrete panels, white painted aluminum and reflected glass comprise the seven wall systems which clad the building’s roof, walls and courtyard.
The building sought economies by adapting two of the existing structures on the site, rather than demolishing the whole. Further economy came from the use of post-tensioned concrete slabs, which allowed for the insertion of a thirteenth floor into the building, netting an additional 100,000 gsf of floor area. The building courtyard, considered a liability before the renovation, was covered with an arc of glass held up by a graceful, curving space frame. Reflective glass on the walls and a reflecting pool on the north side of the building combine to amplify the play of light and shade in the space over the course of the day, creating a fluid sequence of visual cues that help make the space one of the most popular in Washington.
