Mayor Vincent C. Gray has announced Davis Brody Bond, KADCON and Robert Silman Associates as the winning team to design the new St. Elizabeths East Gateway Pavilion on the St. Elizabeths Hospital east campus in Washington D.C. Designed by Davis Brody Bond, the $5 million Gateway Pavilion will transform an existing “weedy, fenced-in plaza fronting Martin Luther King Avenue SE in Congress Heights” into a sustainable, multi-purpose structure that will provide “a venue for casual dining, a farmers’ market and other weekend and after-hours community, cultural and arts events”.
Continue after the break to learn more.
The pavilion is expected to provide jobs to the surrounding community and serve the 4,000 Coast Guard employees scheduled to arrive at their new headquarters on the adjoining St. Elizabeths West Campus in May 2013. It is part of the District of Columbia’s redevelopment plan and economic-development strategy to guide the critical revitalization of St. Elizabeth East.
“We now have a seminal opportunity to activate the site for commercial activity prior to the St. Elizabeths East project’s Phase I completion in 2015,” Mayor Gray said. “The design excellence and architectural and construction prowess that the winning firms will bring to the Gateway Pavilion are what the District’s proposal for interim use here demanded, and we look forward to its construction and use by local and regional consumers.”
The Gateway Pavilion was formed by three distinct approaches, vantage points that reflect the existing and anticipated movements of people from different areas of the neighborhood. These paths will culminate at the 22-foot high, central area that will form a dramatic backdrop to the plaza.
With environmental responsibility as a driving design goal, rainwater will be harvested in an underground cistern to supply water for irrigation and restrooms. Additionally, preliminary materials include canvas, shiplap siding, grasscrete, burlap and reclaimed wood.
Architects: Davis Brody Bond Location: St. Elizabeths Hospital east campus, Washington D.C. Contractors: Kadcon Engineers: Robert Silman Associates Expected completion: 2013 Renderings: Christopher Shelley
via Davis Brody Bond, The District of Columbia, The Washington Post
