The REACH is an extension to the south end of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a living monument to the tragically deceased President of the United States. It houses rehearsal studios, lounges, a Peace Corps gallery and a relatively small theater hall with 150 seats. All this has long been necessary for the Kennedy Center, whose building was built in 1971 according to the design of Edward Durell Stone. The name of the new building reflects its policy, "reaching out" to a variety of audiences. The new building stretches out like a promontory, not between rivers, but between one river, the Potomac, and a major road junction leading to Theodore Roosevelt Bridge.
As Stephen Hall rightly notes in his sketches, the place here is such that wherever you look - a monument of American history. The Kennedy Center itself is such a monument, to the south, at a road junction to another bridge - a neoclassical peripter, the Lincoln memorial, and even to the south - Jefferson's "pantheon".
In a word, in such a well-established environment, it was necessary to act as delicately as possible, and a branch of the Kennedy Center with a total area of about 6,800 m2 turned into a green hill, on the slopes of which there are only three small pavilions. Everything else is hidden underground and revealed at the same time in the highway and to the Potomac - especially the Potomac, to the water of which the glazed parts of the facades of many rooms face. The building, according to the author, implements one of Stone's ideas that were lost in the process of implementation, directly linking the Kennedy Center with the river. A footbridge has also been added over the motorway embankment, allowing you to safely cross the interchange and walk to Rock Creek Park and the Lincoln Memorial.
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zooming 1/6 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy © Steven Holl architects
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zooming 2/6 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy © Steven Holl architects
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zooming 3/6 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy © Steven Holl architects
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zooming 4/6 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy © Steven Holl architects
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zooming 5/6 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy © Steven Holl architects
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zooming 6/6 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy © Steven Holl architects
The pavilions, one of which serves as an entrance, the other as a light lantern, and the third received the definition of a river, “dissolved in the landscape” and arranged so as to reveal and form views of the famous monuments. The concrete walls retain the imprints of the 4-inch Douglas fir formwork, so the volumes seem solid from a distance, and when viewed up close, they acquire a characteristic brutalist texture, reminiscent of the construction process, interesting for viewing and commensurate with a person, the architects clarify.
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zooming 1/3 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy Photo © Richard Barnes
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zooming 2/3 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy Photo © Richard Barnes
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zooming 3/3 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy Photo © Richard Barnes
The geometrically clean shape of the pavilions consists of planes and parabolic fillets. It not only cuts and shapes the space outside, but also contributes to the dispersion of sound inside. Live video of the Kennedy Center performances will be projected onto the north wall of the largest volume.
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zooming 1/4 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy © Steven Holl architects
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zooming 2/4 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy Photo © Richard Barnes
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zooming 3/4 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy © Steven Holl architects
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zooming 4/4 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy © Steven Holl architects
Glasses, including curved ones, are etched and a transparent white film is inserted between the layers of glass, which allows you to diffuse daylight, while allowing it to penetrate deep inside, as well as create a glow at night.
The "wrinkled" surface of the monolithic concrete bearing walls in the interior due to its complex shape plays the role of acoustic panels.
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zooming 1/5 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy Photo © Richard Barnes
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zooming 2/5 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy Photo © Richard Barnes
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zooming 3/5 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy Photo © Richard Barnes
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zooming 4/5 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy Photo © Richard Barnes
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zooming 5/5 The REACH - expansion of the J. F. Kennedy Photo © Richard Barnes
35 ginkgo trees are planted on the hill - by the number of the Kennedy presidency. Next to the third pavilion, facing the water, there is a mirrored pool with a mahogany "deck". Their size and the use of such timber are intended to be reminiscent of the RT 109 torpedo boat that Kennedy commanded during World War II.
