(The following is an excerpt from Retrofit Magazine’s online awards showcase.) “Since the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opened in Washington, D.C., in 1971, it has been in a state of evolution. Designed by famed Architect Edward Durell Stone and constructed between 1964 and 1971, the project was the culmination of Eleanor Roosevelt’s idea in the early 1930s to create a national cultural center that would prohibit discrimination of cast or performance and be a venue for everyone in the U.S. Originally named the National Cultural Center, the venue became the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after JFK’s assassination in late 1963. It was renamed to be a living memorial to the president because the center’s inclusive mission embodied many of the principles JFK stood for during his presidency.
Beginning in 1994, the entire facility has been through several phases of renovation, including updates to the building’s life-safety systems and accessibility requirements. Leora Mirvish, AIA, LEED AP, a principal with Quinn Evans in Washington, is no stranger to the evolution of the Kennedy Center. She has overseen or been part of four of the nine major renovations that have occurred at the center since the 1990s: the Concert Hall, 1997; Opera House, 2003; and Eisenhower Theater, 2008. In 2010, her attention was turned to the fourth-largest venue in the Kennedy Center, the Terrace Theater.
The outcome of Mirvish and her team’s work is not only inspiring performers and guests of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, but the Terrace Theater also earned them an inaugural Metamorphosis Award in the Interior category.”
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(Above Image Credit - © Ron Blunt Photography.)