The current building of the center, reminiscent of a huge marble sarcophagus, is one of the most unfortunate structures of Edward Durrell Stone (1971). Despite its area of almost 140 thousand m2, the Kennedy Center needs expansion. In 2003, a large-scale project, including the construction of several new buildings, was developed by Rafael Vignoli, but he turned out to be too expensive even for pre-crisis times: 650 million dollars.
Now we are talking about a much more modest project: most of the new 5,580 m2 will be located underground, where administrative premises and rehearsal studios will be arranged. However, even there, Hall plans to provide natural ventilation and lighting, as well as visual connection to the surface.
Above, on the site of the existing parking lot, a park with three white marble pavilions will be set up. One of them will serve, among other things, a screen for the live broadcast of performances at the Kennedy Center, the other will serve as a floating stage on the Potomac River. The volumes of the pavilions will "frame" the views from the Stone building to the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials and other sights of Washington.
The park will be associated with Kennedy's biography: for example, the reservoir will coincide in length with the military ship PT-109, which the future US president commanded during World War II. The project's budget will be $ 100 million, all of which will come from private donors.
