The REACH, John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC, USA
69,000 sf Overstructure Greenroof & 60,000 sf of Gardens and Green Space

The REACH main entrance. Image: ©Richard Barnes, courtesy of the Kennedy Center

Greenroofs.com Featured Project November 11, 2019

Happy Veterans Day for those of you from the United States!  What better way to honor our military veterans than to showcase a living memorial to one? The REACH celebrates the legacy of our 35th president, John F. Kennedy, also an esteemed veteran of World War II.

Our Featured Project Video for The REACH is a little longer than average, but we’re sure you’ll appreciate the wonderful photos and video provided by the Kennedy Center!

Thank you, and congratulations to the huge team of professionals who worked on this amazing project!

Excerpt from Project Profile:

The Kennedy Center’s first expansion since its opening in 1971, the REACH is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ historic, $250 million expansion project. A living memorial for President John F. Kennedy, the REACH is envisioned as a 21st-century cultural campus and arts incubator.

A 16-day Opening Festival was held in September 2019 featuring more than 1,000 artists and 500 free events. Visitors can walk through a 35 ginkgo tree grove anchoring the south end (since Kennedy was the 35th United States president), watch a free outdoor simulcast performance projected on a wall, or stroll to the reflecting pool and more.

The REACH crowd gets ready for “Sing Along with The Muppet Movie” on the Upper Lawn, September 15, 2019. Image: Tracey Salazar, courtesy of the Kennedy Center

REACH Campus Aerial View. Image: ©Richard Barnes, courtesy of the Kennedy Center

Designed by Steven Holl Architects with BNIM, the REACH is a marvel of architecture and engineering — particularly the massive green roof that covers the campus, developed with Hollander Design Landscape Architects. Defined by curving white titanium concrete walls, three signature pavilions stretch across the sweeping public lawn overlooking the Potomac River.

Buried under the majority of the property, the 72,000 square-foot expansion houses classrooms, 10 interior stages, performance and rehearsal space. With slopes ranging from 0 to nearly 100%, approximately 69,000 square feet of overstructure green roofs cover the expansion.

More than 600 yoga enthusiasts enjoying Daybreaker on the Upper Lawn of the REACH, September 12, 2019. Image: Anna Meyer, courtesy of the Kennedy Center

REACH Welcome Pavilion from South with Sedum Swoop. Image: ©Richard Barnes, courtesy of the Kennedy Center

American Hydrotech provided insulation and waterproofing to the entire project. The REACH features four complex swoop designs which start as a flat green roof and rotate into vertical walls. Due to the complexity of the three-dimensional swoops, a test mock-up was devised beforehand by James Myers Roofing, American Hydrotech and Sempergreen called “The Ramp.” It was checked on monthly to work out any potential problems before installation.

Hydrotech’s GardNet® assembly provides soil stabilization for the swoops. Three of the swoops employed Sempergreen’s sedum mats, and the fourth swoop along the Potomac River is planted with perennial grasses.

River, Skylight Pavilions and Reflecting Pool at Sunset. Image: ©Richard Barnes, courtesy of the Kennedy Center

More

The media substrate for the swoops evolved as the green roof corkscrewed into a green wall. Sempergreen USA and Knauf Urbanscape designed a mix that starts with LiteTop soil from American Hydrotech and merges slowly into a LiteTop/Urbanscape mineral wool mixture, which in turn merges slowly into the vertical section of 100% green wall mineral wool from Urbanscape inside Hydrotech’s GardNet.

The REACH is now officially LEED Gold certified. Merging architecture and landscape, the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ the REACH is a lyrical extension and Washington, DC’s latest cultural landmark.

REACH River Pavilion with wildflowers. Image: ©Richard Barnes, courtesy of the Kennedy Center

Year: 2019
Owner: John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Location: Washington, DC, USA
Building Program: Multi-Use
Project Type: Intensive
System: Single Source Provider
Size: 69,000 sq. ft.
Slope: 0% – nearly 100%
Access: Accessible, Public

“The Ramp” mock up. Image: Sempergreen USA

One of the REACH’s four swoops. Image: American Hydrotech

Credits:

DESIGN ARCHITECT:
STEVEN HOLL ARCHITECTS

ARCHITECT OF RECORD:
BNIM ARCHITECTS

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT & SWOOP DESIGN:
EDMUND HOLLANDER LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

CONSTRUCTION MANAGER:
WHITING-TURNER CONTRACTING COMPANY

WATERPROOFING, INSULATION & GARDNET ASSEMBLY:
AMERICAN HYDROTECH, INC.

GROWING MEDIA: LITETOP FOR SWOOP AREAS:
AMERICAN HYDROTECH, INC.

MINERAL WOOL GROWING MEDIA FOR SWOOP AREAS:
URBANSCAPE GREEN SOLUTIONS

SEDUM MATS AND SPECIAL IRRIGATION FOR SWOOP AREAS:
SEMPERGREEN

WATERPROOFING / SWOOP SUBCONTRACTOR:
JAMES MYERS CO., INC.

GINKGO, SWEET GUM AND OAK TREES SUPPLIER:
HALKA NURSERIES

LANDSCAPE SUBCONTRACTOR (GREEN ROOFS, TREES, PLANTINGS):
WHITING-TURNER CONTRACTING COMPANY

MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL & PUBLIC HEALTH ENGINEERING:
ARUP

SOILS CONSULTANT:
URBAN TREES

IRRIGATION CONSULTANT:
LANDTECH

EARTHWORK SUBCONTRACTOR:
STRITTMATTER METRO

NOTE: See more credits from Steven Holl Architects

Constructing one of the swoops. Image: Sempergreen USA

See The REACH, John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ project profile to see ALL of the Photos and Additional Information about this particular project in the Greenroofs.com Projects Database.

REACH Campus with Video Wall from Terrace at Dusk. Image: ©Richard Barnes, courtesy of the Kennedy Center

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