Project Advisory meeting #2

This week, for our second advisory meeting, the studio had eight individuals with distinct insight on the East Bottoms area at the KCDC to review our findings. These individuals included professionals from Port KC, KCMO City Planning, and local sustainability experts to help guide us in the right direction. With half of the semester down, the studio is focusing on analytical studies to narrow down potential sites. The materials we are using to do this includes drone footage, precedents, slide shows, and vignettes to help guide our reviewers on the character of the site. For this advisory meeting, we were looking for insights on the possibilities of each section and how they connect.

The discussion started with us considering water management, such as the levee expansion, and how to work with the challenge of potential flooding. Since the site is on a floodplain, the reviewers recommended looking at the Houston Bayou system. Houston has many of the same flooding problems as the East Bottoms and to remedy the issue they created a bayou system that is designed to flood while continuing to serve public needs through green space. This system successfully solves two problems with one solution and the studio is now investigating this precedent in relation to our site. The challenge of restoration and protection was brought up again later in the review— is it possible to use our site when it is saturated due to flooding?

Above: Houston’s system of Bayous that are designed to handle flooding

For the ‘Identity’ section of the project, it was advised that we map out the current activities of the area. Since the East Bottoms is made up of multiple identities, could this be a strength that we can capitalize on? We found that could elaborate further on the five types of sites we have discovered in the East Bottoms.

When investigating ‘Connections’, it is important to note that our site is 990 acres and has the third largest levee system in the country. Could these be used as opportunities to create more public green space? Again, the Houston Bayou project is a good precedent for how to examine potential connections. The studio is also looking at the ports and economic qualities of the East Bottoms— there are precedents around the world for port revitalization that could be beneficial for the site.

Map of current levee system along the Missouri, Kansas, and Blue Rivers in the Kansas city Region

The reviewers were enthusiastic with their feedback and we are excited to expand on our analysis in preparation for the next review!

KCDC Receives the AIA Central States Merit Award

The KCDC is thrilled to announce that we were awarded the 2019 AIA Central States Regional Merit Award for our project West Bottoms Reborn: A Vision Study for a System of Public Spaces. We’ve been keeping it a secret ever since we found out in August and now we finally get to share! Vladimir and two former students that worked on the project (Fiona Bhuyan and George Aguilar) traveled to St. Louis this past weekend to attend the awards ceremony. To see more about the project you can visit the West Bottoms Reborn project page.

Studio Reviews and Revelations

It’s been a busy two weeks at the KCDC! The studio made great progress on the East Bottoms Study and completed our first studio review. Leading up to the deadline we had three guests visit the studio to provide insight on sustainability and water/flood management in the East Bottoms.

For our second pin-up of the year, we had the privilege to discuss our project with Lead Planner Bo Williams and Sustainability Coordinator Gerald Shechter with the City of KCMO and Green Infrastructure and Stormwater Specialist Andy Sauer from Burns & McDonnell. They provided intel on the growing use of wind power in western Kansas, the emergence of electric charging stations provided by KCP&L, and the importance of re-claiming surface parking. We also learned about the East Bottoms history as a flood zone. Due to its proximity to the river, the soil is primarily sandy and acts like a sponge. This presents some challenges for the visioning of the East Bottoms while encouraging the use of innovative green infrastructure solutions.

We had our first studio review last week and hosted Alyssa Parsons and Aaron Ross from BNIM, Tim Duggan from Phronesis, Lauren Cano from Vireo, and Regan Tokos from My Sidewalk. The studio introduced the project and discussed Urban Fabric, Connectivity, and Restoration & Protection. Each category was presented with a series of analytical diagrams developed from our inventory of diagrams created in phase 1 of the project. Urban Fabric focused on the identity of our site; responding to morphology, programming, site boundaries, and relationships to industrial businesses. Connectivity studied transportation volume and connectivity to natural amenities such as freight, trails, and the accessibility of city parks to the East Bottoms. Lastly, the restoration and protection category focused on ecological diagrams mostly consisting of air pollution and soil quality, river flow and sewage systems, and the regional watershed.

Following the review, the studio discussed the direction of the project and re-established its goals based on the feedback received during the review. We noted that the key challenges are the lack of coexistence for pedestrians and cyclists on roadways; limited or inconsistent way-finding; presence of gateways and railway barriers; and flooding/standing water on the site. As a result, our studio goal is to create a sustainable living system in the East Bottoms that encompasses a work, play, and living space while also embracing the existing characteristics of the area.

Lastly, on the coldest day of the week, part of the studio visited the site to gather more images of the public right of way and gateways in and out of the East Bottoms. With this information, we will be able to develop a better understanding of our site as we prepare for next Monday’s second project advisory group meeting!