Another example of how constraints can shape design comes from the story of how the pentagon got its shape. The initial design was dictated by the shape of the tract, but it persisted even after it was decided to build the Pentagon on another location.
The original rationale for Bergstrom’s pentagonal design was gone. The building no longer would be constructed on the five-sided Arlington Farm site. Yet the chief architect and his team continued with plans for a pentagon at the new location. There was no time to change them. Besides, the pentagon design still worked. Like a circle, a pentagon would create shorter walking distances within the building — 30 to 50 percent less than in a rectangle, architects calculated — but its lines and walls would be straight and, therefore, much easier to build.
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