The New Kennedy Center Gardens

Wed, Sep 8, 2021

The Garden Conservancy invites you to join Geoffrey Valentino, director of the Chicago office of Hollander Design Landscape Architects, and Chris McVoy, senior partner of Steven Holl Architects, in a compelling conversation led by Garden Conservancy President & CEO James Brayton Hall. The forum will be followed by a tour of the interior and exterior of the REACH at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The REACH, the first expansion of the Kennedy Center, is designed by renowned architects Steven Holl and Chris McVoy of Steven Holl Architects. Its three contiguous pavilions are set amidst 130,000 square feet of landscaped property, created to integrate the REACH’s interior and exterior space, and designed by Hollander Design Landscape Architects. The REACH 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.

DATE AND TIME
Wednesday, September 8
4:15 p.m.

LOCATION
The REACH at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
2700 F Street NW
Washington, DC 20566

REGISTRATION 
$30 per person
Registration for this program is being handled by the Kennedy Center.
REGISTER NOW

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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Geoffrey Valentino is the director of the Hollander Design’s Chicago office. As an experienced project leader with expertise in a wide variety of project types, Geoff leads design teams to solve challenging design problems on projects ranging from large scaled estates and civic campuses to intimate rooftop gardens and urban parks. Since joining the firm, he has managed residential and commercial projects in nearly every geography touched by the firm, from the Midwest, the East and West Coasts, to the Caribbean and China. His recent projects include the new 130,000 square foot campus addition to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the award-winning Verde Moderne city rooftop, and Dune House, an oceanfront residence recognized by three design awards and a Galerie magazine profile in 2019. Prior to joining Hollander Design in 2011, Geoff managed a wide variety of public and private sector work including private residences, urban plazas, collegiate and corporate campuses, public parks, and streetscapes at Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects. Geoff began his career at urban planning and design firm Wallace Roberts and Todd, where he collaborated with award-winning architects, engineers, and planners on regional-scale multidisciplinary projects. Geoff is a registered landscape architect in the State of Illinois.

Chris McVoy joined Steven Holl Architects in 1993 and was made a partner in 2000. He is responsible for overseeing the projects in the New York office, working closely with Steven Holl and clients to finalize the program, design, and budget, and coordinating and managing the full consultant team. He has been the partner-in-charge and co-designer for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, the Whitney Water Purification Facility and Park, the Campbell Sports Center at Columbia University, and the Glasgow School of Art. He is currently the partner-in-charge for the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University and the new Visual Arts Building at the University of Iowa. McVoy received his bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Virginia and a master's of architecture from Columbia University. He was honored with a Guggenheim Studentship in 1985, a William Kinne Travel Fellowship, and an American Scandinavian Foundation Grant.