Washington, DC: On Wednesday, October 23rd, Mayor Vincent C. Gray, DC government officials, community leaders and the members of the design and construction team celebrated the opening of St. Elizabeths East Gateway Pavilion. The pavilion, now known as G8WAY DC, is located at the center of the District of Columbia’s Congress Heights neighborhood in Ward 8. The newly developed pavilion is the first step of the implementation of the city’s master plan vision to transform the 180-acre Saint Elizabeths East campus into a mixed-use development. The 16,300 square foot open air structure will serve as a location for retail and food vendors as well as community and cultural events. The pavilion will also serve the 4,000 US Coast Guard employees who recently relocated to a new headquarters building on the adjacent St. Elizabeths West campus. Its completion marked the first time that the historic East campus has been opened to the public.
The pavilion was designed by Davis Brody Bond and constructed on an accelerated schedule by KADCON. Robert Silman Associates served as the structural engineer. Peter D. Cook, AIA NOMA, director of Davis Brody Bond’s Washington, DC office and principal-in-charge of the project, noted that the pavilion will make a monumental difference to this community. “We began with the charge to create a structure that was innovative, iconic and visually distinct and unique from the other structures in the city. Looking around, I think we achieved that.”
The design of the pavilion incorporates the desired functionality while at the same time providing for flexibility and spontaneity. The unique dual-level structure allows for movement and activities throughout the site at different levels. The ground level encourages easy connections from the most prominent edges of the site, creating three distinct zones, and connecting the urban face of the project to the more pastoral campus setting. The roof level access allows pedestrians to gain a new perspective on the neighborhood by moving seamlessly up and across the site along the universally accessible roof level. With the goal of achieving LEED Gold status, the project includes several sustainability initiatives such as the use of reclaimed wood, a vegetated green roof, drought resistant plantings, and rainwater harvesting utilizing a 10,000 gallon underground cistern capable of supplying irrigation for the entire site.
