The design concept for the Conceptual Design of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk is rooted in a meditation on the idea of force. Force and its consequence, war, have and continue to be a fundamental aspect of human society. As the location of the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe, Gdansk represents a historical and temporal setting in which a lasting dialogue about the nature of war and the desire of peace may be initiated.It is these two poles of the human condition, war and peace, and their corresponding manifestations in human nature, the destructive and the creative, which the Museum of the Second World War will seek to embody. In this regard, the design concept for the museum may be seen as a reenactment in spatial terms of force?s cycle of destruction and dispersion, creation and hope. A formal and gestural language has been developed for the Museum of the Second World War which references the unique context, culture and history of Poland. The armor of the iconic Polish Hussar, the dormer windows of many traditional and medieval buildings in Gdansk, and the stabilizing cross shape are sources of formal and symbolic inspiration. The transformation and synthesis of these elements through the design process results is an expression which is at once contemporary and connected to its cultural context, reflecting the vibrancy and history of the Polish people. Lead Designer: Vincent SnyderProject Team: Aaron Taylor, John Geib, JJ Puga, Anna Steiner