The REACH
About
THIS PROJECT
The REACH is 72,000 SF expansion to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and includes three concrete pavilions. The pavilions house rehearsal and performance spaces, an education lounge, boardroom and meeting space, as well as a catering kitchen and café. Three exterior art sculptures were installed which are on loan from museums such as The Hirschhorn and Glenstone.
Activities within the space include club-style performances, hands-on art experiences, social events and festivals, outdoor films, art installations, and youth programs and exhibitions. The project includes a 69,000 SF green roof and plaza space, existing building projector room for outdoor movies, parking enhancements, a pedestrian bridge, as well as support space for MEP equipment, lighting and audiovisual features.
The project has also received many accolades including LEED® Gold certification, Washington Building Congress craftsmanship awards for electrical lighting and special systems, as well as the District of Columbia Society of Professional Engineers’ Project of the Year award.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
LOCATION:
Washington, DC
Mid-Atlantic
CLIENT:
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
INDUSTRY:
Performing Arts
PRACTICES:
Advanced Delivery Methods
Sustainability
VDC
CUBIC YARDS OF CONCRETE
GEOTHERMAL WELLS OVER 500 LF IN DEPTH
gingko trees planted in honor of John F. Kennedy, 35th president of the U.S.
Redefining
ARCHITECTURAL CONCRETE
The pavilions’ façades, floors, walls and ceilings were formed with 21,000 CY of cast-in-place concrete, with many special measures taken to achieve the architectural requirements. Titanium was added to the concrete mix to accomplish the bright white exteriors of the pavilions, which parallel the marble of the main building. The complex geometry of the buildings required concrete design strengths up to 12,000 PSI and slab decks with hollow plastic balls to create a void slab system that reduced weight. Several types of concrete forms allowed for a variety of textures for exposed walls, including the unique crinkle concrete featured on the walls of many performance spaces. These techniques, combined with complex coordination that involved integrating large amounts of conduit, piping, reinforcing bars and post-tension cables, allowed the team to aesthetically transcend the use of concrete in modern architecture.
