6 minute read
DAYtrip
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 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
initially selected by the center to be at the upper south podium, closer to the Edward Durell Stone building,” he said. “However, Steven Holl’s winning competition submission proposed a terraced building and landscape composition that stepped down and connected to the Potomac River. There is about a 30' grade change from the center terrace to Rock Creek Park. We needed to step or ramp the landscape down and achieve the connection to the river. “One of the biggest landscape challenges were the ‘Swoops.’ The sedum Swoops are one of the most interesting and challenging design components of this landscape… inspired by the sweep of a glissando in music and geometry. The Swoops, entirely [mounted] on structure, are an extension of the curved building walls, creating a warped vegetated plane varying from almost completely flat to 100% vertical. The challenge was to create a potpourri of sedum that read as one carpet by varying the growing media and irrigation based upon the slope conditions. “Areas of the Swoops with less than 50% slope are composed entirely of light-weight soil media with no soil stabilization needed. From 50% and greater, we used a hydrotech guardnet system for slope stabilization and we slowly began to introduce Rockwool into the soil media until we hit 100% Rockwool at 80% slope and above. The guardnet allowed us the flexibility to hold and shape the soil media against a warped plane curving in two directions. The irrigation in each sedum area is broken up into numerous zones based upon the vertical location. The irrigation system has an advanced computer system that runs 24/7, 365, with the ability to confirm water flow, water pressure, water temperature, self-empty prior to frost, and refill right after temperatures warm up. Green walls often fail in the winter because during a warm spell, the plants will come out of dormancy. If there is no available moisture in the soil, the plants will begin to fail. One of the reasons we chose sedums for the Swoops [was] their ability to hold water.” The green roof and wall systems at the REACH are certianly impressive and were no easy feat to create. The sedum plantings were sourced from Sempergreen, which has a nearby location in Culpeper, VA, Valentino explained the trials that took place before the Swoops were planted. “We built an extensive mockup and tested all the slopes we would encounter at the site. It was important to construct and observe the mockup to study how the plants would react to the varying slopes over the four seasons. We learned that we needed to provide just enough water to allow the sedum to survive, but not too much to allow it to flourish. If certain species did too well at a given point during year, they would block out and eliminate the species that were meant to provide interest during other times of the year. We were able to make the appropriate adjustments and improvements to the design over the year that we studied this mockup.” The innovative green walls and roof system will serve as inspiration for other urban landscapes. “Green roofs are certainly here to stay,” Hall said. “I am optimistic that the technology has finally caught up with our dreams of the benefits they could offer. Functionally, they allow previously ‘lost’ space to become useful, and to become a public or private asset. Much of the green roof at the REACH is over a parking structure, replacing a surface parking lot that was paved with asphalt. This helps mitigate the age-old problem of choosing either parking or greenspace… you can have both! “I predict that this space will continue to be extremely popular with the public. Its accessibility for a variety of users has a great deal to do with that, in addition to its connection to other pedestrian and bike paths, and, of course, its proximity to the river. Programming (i.e., performances, movie nights, etc.) will be key to making the space vibrant and enjoyed. That will be the responsibility of the Kennedy Center. The designers from Steven Holl Architects and Hollander Design Landscape Architects have provided the perfect stage. Now it is the responsibility of the Kennedy Center staff to use it appropriately and creatively (this is not always self-evident). The REACH, including the plantings and the structures, must also be maintained immaculately for it to continue to feel welcoming and loved.” o
