The Pentagon is what? Brief description of the building

The Pentagon is a pentagonal structure. It is the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense of the United States of America. This is the largest administrative building in the world. In addition, it is the most protected military facility in the States. Where is the Pentagon in America? The building is located near the capital of the USA, the city of Washington , Virginia.

Reasons for construction

In the 30s of the twentieth century, the United States was brewing the question of uniting all seventeen military departments spread all over the country under one roof. For a long time the question was postponed, while America, drawn into World War II, did not understand that this task should be carried out in the shortest possible time. Military ministers appealed to President F. Roosevelt with a request to allocate space and money for the construction of the building. Instructions were given to finish the construction of the Pentagon as soon as possible. However, when erecting a structure, it was necessary to minimize costs as much as possible, reducing them to the possible minimum.

Construction of the Pentagon

The construction of the office building was started on September 11, 1941. The project was led by General Brehon Somervell and Colonel Leslie Groves. Already on January 15, 1943 the building was put into operation. It also functions in our time. The Pentagon was erected in just 16 months. During construction only concrete, sand and metal structures were used. The Pentagon is an innovative building for its century. In addition, it is worth noting, the budget. According to some reports, about $ 80 million was spent on the construction of the largest office branch.

Features of the building

Headquarters has an interesting architectural form. This is the constructed pentagon in all geometric rules. All sides of the building are equal, each has a length of 281 meters. Thanks to this, the right figure has turned out. This is especially noticeable when viewed from a bird's eye view of the Pentagon. This building occupies an area of 116 thousand square meters. There is a courtyard inside the building. Its area is 21 thousand square meters. M. The courtyard is covered with a lawn, which, like the building itself, has a pentagonal shape. There is a version that the people call it Ground zero ("epicenter"). Whence such associations? Allegedly, this "nickname" has been given to this place since the time of the Cold War between the United States and Russia, since it was intended for targeting nuclear missiles.

The Pentagon - the headquarters of the US Department of Defense - is a seven-story building. Only five outer layers, two - underground. All of them are in the form of a concentric rectangle, connected by communicating corridors, of which only 11. Their total length reaches almost 30 km. It is believed that thanks to this architectural solution from anywhere in the building to another you can get by spending only 7 minutes. The height of the headquarters is 23.5 meters. At present, there are a lot of people working here - about 26 thousand, among them there are civilians and military personnel.

Facades

The Pentagon is a building that has a facade on either side. In the northern part there is a shopping gallery. This façade is used for meetings or formal events. The south is a parking lot. The helicopter pad is installed on the third . The other facades have access to the metro station and shopping arcades. The so-called commercial facade has many shops, cafes and banks designed to serve Pentagon employees.

Catastrophe

During armed troubles in the US, the Pentagon building also suffered. It happened on September 11, 2001. One of the captured airliners crashed into the facade. As a result, a fire broke out, workers were killed. The restoration of this wing lasted more than a year. On the site of the plane crash, a memorial to the dead Americans was installed.