Ovation Selected to Lead The Grotto at The Hilltop
Image Courtesy of ZGF Architects
Ovation Consulting is honored to serve as Owner’s Representative for The Grotto at The Hilltop, a new cultural and performance venue envisioned by Vince and Carol Bryan and their nonprofit, Columbia Gorge by George.
Set high above the Columbia Gorge near Quincy, Washington, The Grotto at The Hilltop will be an intimate, high‑performance indoor theater and gathering place integrated directly into a natural basalt bowl. It is conceived as the close‑in companion to the Gorge Amphitheatre and Cave B Estate Winery—continuing the Bryans’ four‑decade legacy of creating extraordinary experiences where land, music, wine, and community meet.
To select the design team, Ovation developed a comprehensive RFQ/RFP and design‑competition. The goal was to elicit the very best of design thinking from leading firms, with a strong emphasis on site specificity, performance excellence, and environmental integration.
Image Courtesy of ZGF Architects
Following this process, Columbia Gorge by George has selected ZGF Architects as the Architect for the Grotto. ZGF’s winning concept distinguished itself through:
A design that clearly emerges from and belongs to the Hilltop bowl, the rock, and the views.
Deep attention to acoustics, performance functionality, and technical systems appropriate to a world‑class venue.
A serious, creative approach to sustainability and environmental integration, aligned with the project’s Living Building–level aspirations.
A presentation that reflected strong collaboration, humility, and imagination.
As Owner’s Representative, Ovation is leading the overall project delivery strategy and capital program management: framing scope and phasing, managing the RFQ/RFP and addenda, coordinating Owner‑side advisors and guiding the contracting, design, permitting, and preconstruction processes. Our role is to help the Owner de‑risk and accelerate a highly complex, highly specific project while staying faithful to the Bryans’ long‑held vision that “the environment is the structure.”
Image Courtesy of ZGF Architects
Over the coming months, Ovation will work closely with ZGF, Columbia Gorge by George, and the broader team to finalize the Owner–Architect Agreement and project milestones, and advance the Grotto design from Basis of Design through schematic and detailed documentation.
The Grotto at The Hilltop is a once‑in‑a‑generation opportunity: to create a place where audiences can move in a single day from an outdoor concert to an intimate performance carved into rock. Ovation is proud to help steward this project from vision to reality, and to collaborate with ZGF and Columbia Gorge by George on each step ahead.