QUINCY, Wash. — The founders of the Gorge Amphitheatre announced Sunday that they are working on building a new venue in Quincy, Washington, and have selected ZGF Architects to design it.
Vince and Carol Bryan, who are behind the group known as The Hilltop, announced, “The Grotto will bring a new venue to one of the most iconic landscapes in the region.”
The new venue will pair performance with the natural grandeur of its setting, the group said.
A rendering image of The Grotto. (Renderings courtesy of ZGF Architects)
The Hilltop chose ZGF because of the firm’s extensive experience delivering award-winning cultural, civic, and sustainable architecture that strengthens communities.
Designed to emerge from and connect to the landscape, The Grotto design draws inspiration from the basalt cliffs and expansive skies above the Columbia, the group said.
The Hilltop aspires for The Grotto to be the most sustainable performance venue in the country — one designed around energy, water, and materials, and built to last for generations.
“We are thrilled to partner with Vince and Carol and The Hilltop on their extraordinary vision for a landmark arts and cultural destination above the Columbia,” said Haruka Saito, Principal, ZGF. “It’s an incredible honor to help bring their vision to life and deliver a venue that will celebrate the arts, the environment, and the community for generations.”
“We want the environment to be the structure for the architect to work with — not to impose a structure on it, but to look to the environment as it is, embracing the elements where they are, and allowing them to dictate the structure,” said Vince Bryan, founder of The Hilltop. “In ZGF, we found a partner who understands that.”
Concept design for The Grotto at The Hilltop is now underway.
Quincy is nearly 20 miles north of the Gorge Amphitheatre and sits above the Columbia River in Grant County.