United States Institute of Peace Headquarters

United States Institute of Peace Headquarters
USIP's headquarters in 2011
General information
Architectural style	Modernism
Location	Washington, D.C.
Address	2301 Constitution Avenue NW
Country	United States
Coordinates	38°53′33.92″N 77°3′2.49″W / 38.8927556°N 77.0506917°W / 38.8927556; -77.0506917
Construction started	2008
Completed	2011
Cost	$186 million
Height	91.33 ft (27.84 m)
Technical details
Floor count	5
Floor area	154,000 sq ft (14,300 m2)
Design and construction
Architect	Moshe Safdie
Main contractor	Clark Construction Group

The United States Institute of Peace Headquarters houses staff offices and other facilities for the government-funded think tank focused on peacemaking and conflict avoidance. The building is the first permanent home for the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), established in 1984. The headquarters is sited on a prominent location near the National Mall and Potomac River in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The environmentally friendly building, noted for its unique roof, was designed by architect Moshe Safdie and completed in 2011. Critics' reviews of the building's design have been mixed.

In the 1980s, Democratic Senator Jennings Randolph of West Virginia led a group of lawmakers calling for a federal peace institute. USIP was established by Congress in 1984 and for many years rented office space in various buildings in downtown Washington, the last being 1200 17th Street NW. In 1996, Congress approved a site on the National Mall for USIP. The site chosen for a new headquarters, the first permanent home for the USIP, was on the corner of 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue NW in Foggy Bottom. It was previously a parking lot for Bureau of Medicine and Surgery employees at the adjacent Old Naval Observatory. The land was transferred to the USIP without charge with an agreement that underground parking spaces would be built for the Navy employees. The site is on the northwest corner and last buildable site available on the National Mall, overlooking the Lincoln Memorial, and across the street from the historic American Institute of Pharmacy Building.

In 2004, Congress authorized $100 million for construction of USIP's headquarters, in part due to the efforts of Republican Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, while the institute was required to raise the remaining $86 million. The funds raised by USIP included a $10 million donation from Chevron Corporation. Another corporate donor to the building fund, defense contractor Lockheed Martin, was named a "Founding Corporate Partner" after donating $1 million. William Hartung of the Center for International Policy criticized the USIP for "taking money from the world's largest producer of the weapons of war."