End of Year Re-Cap

Since December, the KCDC studio has made many discoveries that have influenced our designs for the Spring semester. As our final review neared, our team began to create solutions to some of the intrinsic obstacles in our site.

Our biggest challenges are as follows:
Flooding: caused by groundwater and runoff retained in the bowl-shaped geography of the site
Intra-disconnection: disconnection within the system of the East Bottoms, especially in local connections for pedestrians and vehicular traffic
A fragmented sense of site identity

The solutions manifested in the form of a unified and systematic trail and bioswale loop. Water from the swales will collect in the lowest geographic area, in this case, an area of the site we have named the ‘working landscape’. In order to reinforce the identity of the East Bottoms, the studio proposed a trail system with the goal to unify and celebrate the identity of the area rather than assimilate them. With these overarching solutions in mind, we are now investigating ways to facilitate them in focused design areas.

Final Reviews

With our design strategy in place (and nearly every square inch of wall space occupied with designs), we held our final reviews. Our reviewers had valuable advice for the project, which encouraged a fresh set of ideas and gave the project a nudge onto a more defined trajectory

Along the proposed trail, there is a series of modular, multi-use shelters that we call ‘follies’. Different types of follies exist along the trail, functioning like small cafe’s, bicycle repair stations, and rest areas. During the review, it was suggested that each loop of the trail system could have different uses that could be specific to the identity of the loop area. It was also recommended that we tidy up this system and make it much more focused and refined.

The trail/folly system and green infrastructure systems mostly operate individually. The question quickly became ‘how can we braid the separate strands together in a way that makes them stronger together than they are independently?’ In other words, the studio needs to reconcile the systems in a way that maximizes synergy.

Open House

Just a few short days after the review, we hosted our Fall Open House. Bustling with attendees, their advice and encouragement allowed us to see the full effects of our efforts. The evening was a nice blend of formal presentation and fun; we were able to talk to many local professionals without the rigidity of a critique or review.

As we wrapped up the year, the studio saw there was much left to do and look forward to in the new spring semester. We are grateful for everyone that has supported the studio and the project so far, from giving advice to words of encouragement. Below is a rare photo of the whole studio in one place, we know if will be a cherished memory of this year.

The students at the KCDC are officially in their final week of production for the semester!

Our Open House for the East Bottoms project is next Wednesday, December 18th from 5:30-8:00pm. The students are currently pushing towards their conceptual designs for the three areas of focus (Riverbelt, Working Landscape, and Social/Industrial Hub) to present at the Open House. We hope you can stop by on Wednesday to see all of the work the students have done this semester.

After the new year the students will continue to create focused design suggestions for the East Bottoms and we will begin our public meetings to get feedback from those living and working in the East Bottoms area. Be sure to watch for the finalized dates and locations at the start of the year!

For almost three months, the Kansas City Design Center studio has been tirelessly mapping, analyzing, and gathering quantitative and qualitative data in order to better understand the East Bottoms. As architects and urban planners, it is our responsibility to make rational decisions backed by research and analysis.

Over the last two weeks, the studio has had a couple of reviews of our progress by local design professionals and our advisory group.

At our studio review we welcomed Alex Ogata from Populous, Tim Duggan from Phronesis, James Pfeiffer and Alyssa Parsons from BNIM, Amanda Santoro from Hoerr Schaudt, Lauren Cano from Vireo, and Michael Frisch from the University of Missouri-Kansas.

Our second review was with our Project Advisory group— we had Joe Perry with PortKC, Jeff Williams, Gerald Shechter, and Lisa Treese with the City of KCMO, Kristin Riott from Bridging the Gap, and Christina Hoxie of Hoxie Collective at the KCDC to share their time and knowledge to help us move forward with the project.

There are a few key issues that we currently know about the site:

• Despite having a riverfront park that is bigger than Central Park in NY, the Riverfront Park — totaling 955.45 acres— is underutilized and unaccessible to the public

• While considered a historic area with the best physical connection to both the Missouri River and the Blue River, the East Bottoms is mostly disconnected from both of the rivers.

• The entire East Bottoms is a flood plain and even though it is mostly flat, the eastern section still floods due to it being slightly lower in elevation.

• The East Bottoms is not only in a state of blight, but it also has problems with water runoff not being managed, resulting in standing water throughout the site.

• The area is industry and traffic heavy which results in air, soil, and water pollution. The East Bottoms has a number of brownfield sites.

• The East Bottoms utilizes both a combined sewer and a separate sewer system. During rainfall, water fills up the combined sewer system causing overflow and sewage back ups into the Blue River.

• Despite being directly adjacent to the downtown area, intersected by major highways and in proximity to prime locations such as downtown, Cliff Drive, the Rivermarket, and Columbus Park, the East Bottoms is disconnected from the rest of the city.

• 15,000 people commute to work in the East Bottoms but are offered no amenities surrounding their work place, effectively turning the East Bottoms into a no man’s land.

The East Bottoms is very well connected regionally, making it a thriving industrial area. As a result, the area sees over 80,000 vehicles a day and there is a constant threat of getting stuck in the site due to the large amount of train traffic that blocks off streets.

After examining these issues, the studio came up with a vision:

We hope to strengthen the relationship between KC communities and the water by improving the public realm while taking advantage of the East Bottoms’ natural geographic roots.

From this vision, we formed our overarching project goal:

To create a historic linear park that not only connects you to both rivers and takes you on a journey through the city, but also builds resiliency for the East Bottoms.

The linear park would transform infrastructure into recreation, connecting the East Bottoms to the West Bottoms to create a natural green loop that acts as an alternative method of transportation— ultimately connecting to George Kessler’s Parks and Boulevard System. This green loop not only has societal benefits, but also serves as a line of defense against flooding and drought because of its design as a living machine that harvests, treats, and stores stormwater.

Over the next month we will be busy with studio work before leaving for the holidays, but tune back in after the new year to see more focused conceptual plans for the East Bottoms!