The National Capital Planning Commission gave its final approval Thursday to the site plan for the United States Institute of Peace Headquarters and Public Education Center on the southeast portion of the Old Naval Observatory and offered design guidance for the planned Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center.

The six-story Institute of Peace building will contain a research library and archives, a conference center and an interactive education center, as well as office space for the USIP’s 250 employees, fellows and researchers.

Despite its approval, the commission voiced concerns over whether the institute’s lighting would interfere with the atmosphere of the nearby Lincoln Memorial and insisted designers take measures to ensure the Institute of Peace would not impede it. Institute officials assured the commission they would restrict the level of lighting.

“We want to have a significant building that does not impose on the prominence of the Lincoln Memorial,” said Charles Nelson, vice president of the institute.

This story continues below
Advertisement

The planning commission also advised architects on their plans for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center, which earned site approval last August.

They asked designers to find new recreation sites for people who currently use the area on the National Mall to play Frisbee and softball and make the design more handicap-accessible.

The underground center will feature a video montage of pictures of fallen soldiers from the Vietnam War, along with letters and stories from individual veterans.

“The center will enhance the experience of the visitors and allow them to see behind the wall and view the human experience of the war,” said Mary Beth of the Applebaum Association, the architectural company in charge of the design.