The conventional reinforced-concrete frames of the six 11-story buildings that stand in place of the razed Washington, D.C., convention center don't hold a candle to the innovative space truss that supported the old exhibit hall's clear-span roof. But though the relatively shallow modified-Vierendeel truss minimized the megabuilding's bulk, it could do nothing to keep the hulk from turning into a civic embarrassment.
The 9.2-acre Washington Convention Center was too small and had no room to grow. It also ripped a giant hole in the urban fabric, deadened sidewalk activity and violated the street grid (ENR 5/27/82 p. 30).