Project Atlas: An International Competition and Forum

Launched shortly after the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the consequent disintegration of the Eastern Bloc, Project Atlas was an international design competition soliciting proposals for the reuse and transformation of one of the iconic architectural artifacts of the Cold War, the Atlas nuclear missile silos. The site of the competition was a group of twelve newly-decommissioned silos located in the region surrounding Plattsburg Air Force Base, at the edge of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains in New York State. Of the 140 proposals submitted, 27 were selected for inclusion in the exhibition. The jury included Vito Acconci, Neil Denari, Elizabeth Diller, Patricia Phillips and Lebbeus Woods.