Editors’ Choice

2020 Skyscraper Competition
Maciej Worosilak, Dominika Kubicka, Alicja Prusi?ska, Karolina Kowalczyk

Poland,  United Kingdom

Over the last thirty years, the occident has been constantly confronted with an increasing lack of trust in public authorities. Years of a vicious circle when the arrogance of the elites has to lead the masses to the state of indifference. Society appears to be divided, consumed by passivity and susceptible to manipulation; full of disapproval for political classes, yet not concerned enough to fully supervise the elected authorities. Ancient Romans recognized this problem long ago rising the pivotal question – who watches the watchmen themselves" Centuries passed but we still fail to give the definite answer. Polish kings who sat in the Chamber of Deputies of the Wawel Castle were constantly watched by the crowd of heads overseeing the proceedings from the famous coffered ceiling. The ingenious design of Panopticon forced the inmates held in custody to behave properly under the pressure of being watched constantly. We use these precedents trying to bridge the gap between two sides of the system and to send an invitation for more active participation. We chose the Pentagon to be the site of our intervention due to its iconographic strength and cultural relevance. U.S. Department of Defense headquarters is of one the most iconic and well-guided edifices on the planet. Such vigilance and ostentatious alienation can...