The main goal of the studio was to really question the idea of “Forms follow Function” by looking into many selected monuments all over the world. The monument chosen for this project is the Washington Monument in DC with the intention to convert it into a tower with housings for the immigrants and their religious centers.

Throughout the project, the idea of mass and monolith become the main drivers in terms of not only the operational processes but also the relationship between program pieces. Obelisk was first used by the Egyptians as a symbol of faith, and it was carved out from a solid stone. In the case of Washington Monument is different, in fact, it was constructed with four planar surfaces representing a mass. The same operation is once again used to re-purpose the monument, turning the tower into a simple, minimal monolithic appearance in the day time, but totally transparent at night exposing all the complexity inside - the complexity of planar operation and the mixture of programs.

About the users, the American immigrants are from all over the world, and they also have different background with different beliefs. However, the religious spaces, the central core of what makes each group different from others, are transformed into something very neutral. The arrangement of these religious spaces are mixed and scattered all around the tower allowing for a better social and cultural exchange between different groups of users. Similar to the operation of the project, in a bigger picture, the society and community is not made out of one piece, but rather is the combination of so many smaller elements including the goods and the bads.