Fifty years after the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opened in Washington, D.C., construction work on a 65,000-sf expansion to the facility began.
Designed by Steven Holl and BNIM, the project is being funded privately, and will be located south of the current facility. Functioning as an interactive space where artists and the community can come together, it will include spaces for rehearsal and education, as well as multi-use indoor and outdoor areas.
The building is meant to fuse the Potomac River and the landscape, the architects said. A grove made up of 35 ginkgo trees will remind visitors that Kennedy was America's 35th president, and an infinity pool will give visitors a direct sightline to Theodore Roosevelt Island.
Of the connection between the local landscape and the expansion, Steven Holl said in a statement: "The varied gardens will provide opportunities for casual performances and events and other flexible locations for enhanced engagement. The Kennedy Center’s connection to the Potomac River will finally be achieved, more than 50 years after it was lost in Edward Durell Stone’s initial design, allowing easy access to and from the Rock Creek Trail and the Georgetown waterfront."
The expansion is slated for completion on May 29, 2017, which would have been Kennedy's 100th birthday.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Aug 28, 2020
2020 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
The 2020 Giants 400 Report features more than 130 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Cultural Facilities | Jun 19, 2020
A new ULI report chronicles the depaving of America
Fifteen examples of how parks and green spaces emerged from parking lots, garages, and underpasses.
Libraries | Jan 23, 2020
Information or community center: The next generation of libraries must be both
Are libraries still relevant in a digital world?
Cultural Facilities | Dec 4, 2019
Snøhetta wins competition to design maritime center in Esbjerg, Denmark
The project’s design was developed with WERK Arkitekter.
Cultural Facilities | Dec 1, 2019
Small-venue theaters play starring cultural and economic roles in New York City’s economy
A new study identifies the challenges these theaters face, and offers possible solutions that include more city support.
Cultural Facilities | Nov 11, 2019
‘The Whale’ will be an arctic attraction 185 miles north of the Arctic Circle
Dorte Mandrup won an international competition to design the project.
Cultural Facilities | Nov 1, 2019
Coldefy & Associés’ design selected for Pulse nightclub shooting memorial
The design was selected from 68 entries.
Cultural Facilities | Oct 29, 2019
A watchtower in Harlem, once a firefighter’s lookout, is restored as a landmark
The nearly $8 million project required major structural interventions.
Giants 400 | Oct 3, 2019
Top 65 Cultural Sector Construction Firms for 2019
Whiting-Turner, Turner, PCL, Clark Group, and Gilbane top the rankings of the nation's largest cultural facility sector contractors and construction management firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 3, 2019
Top 70 Cultural Sector Engineering Firms for 2019
Jacobs, Arup, EXP, BRPH, and Thornton Tomasetti head the rankings of the nation's largest cultural facility sector engineering and engineering architecture (EA) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.