DAYtrip
The REACH at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts By Kathy Jentz
The Garden Conservancy recently hosted a panel discussion and tour of the REACH, the first-ever expansion of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The new addition includes three contiguous pavilions set in 130,000 square feet of landscaped property, created to integrate the REACH’s interior and exterior space. It forms a unified campus with the Kennedy Center’s original Edward Durell Stone building and creates a connection to the adjacent Potomac River and other signature Washington, DC, monuments. The $250 million complex was designed by renowned architects Steven Holl and Chris McVoy of Steven Holl Architects and by Hollander Design Landscape Architects. “The landscape at the REACH is significant first and foremost in that it is a full partner in the overall design with the other ‘built’ structures, rather than merely providing decoration around the edges or just background for the sculptures,” said James Hall, president and chief executive officer of the Garden Conservancy. “Interacting with the site 6
WASHINGTON GARDENER
SEPTEMBER 2021
encourages people to discover the overlaps with the architecture and rewards the curious with a greater understanding of the entire greenspace. “I was also impressed by the (relatively) intimate scale, as compared to the gigantic, imperial feeling of many of Washington’s other green spaces. In a more functional, but equally important way, the designers also elegantly solved the long-standing challenge of access to the river from the Kennedy Center.” This new landscape is a living memorial to 35th United States President John F. Kennedy. It is considered to be part of the same grouping as the nearby Lincoln, Jefferson, and Washington memorials on the National Mall. It is open to the public and “a home for non-traditional programming with an emphasis on active participation and access; the open, informal spaces of the new expansion draw visitors directly into the creative process and inspire new connections and collaborations between creators of multiple genres and disciplines,” according to the Kennedy Center.
The REACH opened officially in September 2019, but has not had programmed events for most of the last 18 months due to COVID-19. This fall, the programming has ramped up again. The REACH’s grounds include outdoor sculptures, green walls, a great lawn, and the Victura Park Wine Garden and Café, an outdoor beer and wine garden. The site is full of symbolism. Victura is named after John F. Kennedy’s beloved sailboat. There is a Presidential Grove of 35 Ginkgo trees with picnic tables arranged under them. The Ginkgo trees lose all their leaves in a short period of time, normally in mid- to late November in our region. It is hoped that the timing of that dramatic leaf fall and the anniversary of Kennedy’s passing on November 22 coincide for even greater symbolic effect. According to Geoff Valentino, Hollander Design Landscape Architects director of the firm’s Chicago office, one of the biggest challenges of the location was its elevation. “The location for the expansion of the Kennedy Center was
