The new Family Theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, replaced the old American Film Institute (AFI) Theater.  The Kennedy Center wanted to build a new venue specifically design for presentations to young audiences that would be located on the main level of the building, along with the Concert Hall, Opera House and Eisenhower Theater, thereby raising the profile of the young audience programming to the same level as the other principal venues in the complex.

A principal design challenge was to provide safe and seamless circulation for patrons entering from the Hall of States.   Patrons attending the former AFI Theater had to cross through a backstage loading area for the Eisenhower Theater.  This route, affectionately known at the Kennedy Center as the ‘DMZ", was unsightly and disruptive to the backstage activities at the Eisenhower.  Our solution for the Family Theater project created a new public lobby with a monumental stair connecting to an upper lobby created by demolishing space previously used as staff offices.  Entrance to the new theater is gained via the upper lobby at the rear of the auditorium and over the Eisenhower loading area, thereby allowing patrons to enter without having to pass through  - or even be aware of - the DMZ.

The Family Theater has a proscenium stage designed to support a range of performances but with a focus on drama and dance productions.  Backstage support areas are included in the design.

The theater interior is paneled with Pennsylvania cherry wood, organized within a series of bronze verticals which recall the bronze metals used throughout the Kennedy Center lobbies.  The interiors are designed to be warm and sophisticated, providing an inviting and serious environment where young audiences can be introduced to the theater experience.