Community Engagement begins!

Wow, we have been busy! 

Since our last post we had our first advisory on meeting Wednesday September 15.  A huge thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to join us, virtually, while we presented our findings!  Our advisory board is made up of individuals from the neighborhoods surrounding Kessler Park, KCMO Parks and Rec, The Kansas City Museum, and many professionals in the Kansas City area.  This group helps guide the direction of the project and make sure we are addressing the critical needs of the community. We can’t thank them enough for their feedback!

We also participated in Park(ing) Day on Saturday September 18! As a studio we put our heads together to re-imagine what a normal parking spot could be transformed into.  On top of that we were able to reuse things we had around the studio to create a fun parklet which gave us the perfect opportunity to introduce attendees to the Kessler Park Vision Study project. Thanks to Park(ing) Day we were able to gather so much great feedback about what people want to see in Kessler Park.  

Finally, we hosted our first public meeting on Wednesday September 22.  A huge thank you to all who joined! With that meeting we were able to meet numerous members of the community and gather feedback on what they would like to see happen with the reservoir and the challenges and opportunities they notice as residents.

Moving forward we will be taking the feedback we received from our Advisory group and the public to improve our research and keep developing our work.  Depicted below is just one of the many maps we have been developing.  This map shows amenities in the surrounding areas such as food, retail, education and more as well a walking radius from the reservoir in order to help us see what is available to park users currently and what amenities are lacking in the area.

The public meeting live stream is available to watch on our Facebook page: https://fb.watch/8dJZjAx8yT/ Our next public meeting will take place on Wednesday, November 3rd and we will use a hybrid format, holding the meeting at PH Coffee but retaining a virtual component for those that might not be able to attend in person.

A New KCDC Project Begins!

With the new academic year comes new challenges! The Kansas City Design Center is getting back into its studies for the 2021-22 academic year with 11 new graduate students. We have returned in-person to the studio space and are excited to flex our design muscles! Our student population comes from all over Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and even Puerto Rico! So far, we all agree that Kansas City is an incredible place to study and live.

Our project this year involves the expansive Kessler Park and focuses on the neglected Reservoir situated between Reservoir Drive and Cliff Drive and addresses the need for community space in this area of the city. Our efforts have been in full swing for about two weeks now, and we have assembled to identify and analyze site conditions, historic documents, demographic trends, past and existing initiatives and precedents. Our first site visit to Kessler Park wrapped last week and left us with great contextual information regarding the reservoir. We were able to visit North Terrace Lake, the Lexington Ave bridge, the historic Colonnade, and the Kansas City Museum in Scarritt Renaissance.

As a studio, we were shocked to learn that only a few of us were familiar with Kessler Park. This gave us a great opportunity to do some digging. Thankfully, building off the work of previous studios and firms we partner with, we were able to pull from city planning initiatives and diagrams to gain a better understanding of Kessler Park as a whole.

From here, we hope to conclude the inventory phase with more knowledge as to how Kessler Park and its associated neighborhoods interact. This will give us valuable insight and direction before we do any design work.
Please follow along as we continue to work diligently for Kessler Park’s benefit. We plan to post monthly blog updates right here! Our Instagram (@kcdesigncenter) will also include more frequent and personal updates from different studio members. We are excited to embark on this project and learn from Kansas City!

Meet the Studio!!

Lydia Carter
I was originally born in Colorado, but I grew up in Kansas City, MO. I went to UMKC for my first two years of architecture school, and I loved working on urban projects. Ultimately, urban design and the overall atmosphere of the city brought me back to the KCDC for my final year.

Donovan Douglas
I am a fifth year Master of Architecture student— I spent two years of my education at the University of Missouri Kansas City before moving to K-State in my third. I chose to come to the KCDC to experience a more grounded project with community interaction. I believe it will be a welcome part of my education and I think it is a crucial skill to have as an architect.

Jonathan Ludwick
I chose to be at the KCDC because I wanted to be part of an environment that closely resembles the work environment of a firm. I have interned every summer since high school and I believe that I can bring a professional mindset to the table for the studio.

Matthew McGuire
I am from Bentonville, Arkansas but have family all throughout Kansas. Kansas City is like a second home to me! As a fifth year Architecture student coming from K-State, I decided to come to the KCDC to round out my academic experience through urban design. I believe this studio will give me valuable opportunities to better communities, while also improving my design work. I am excited for this last year in college!

Payton Monks
My name is Payton Monks, I am a fifth year architecture student at K-State University. Growing up in KC, I have been exposed to the many aspects that make this such a great place to live and watch the various communities grow and prosper. As an avid prescriber to the idea that ‘design builds community’ I am excited to be a part of the KCDC where I have the opportunity to enhance the community I grew up in. I believe this will be a critical final step in shaping who I am as a designer before I graduate.

Becca Pedrosa, LEED Green Associate
I am a fifth year Architecture student with a minor in English Writing. I am originally from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico and moved to the US to study at K-State, however I decided to spend the last year of my Masters at the KCDC. I believe this studio can help me develop my collaborative skills while also being able to participate from an urban setting. Through this, I can learn to design by addressing the communities needs and how to provide solutions in a sustainable and effective manner.

Kris Snodgrass
My name is Kris Snodgrass and I am a fifth year Architecture student. I am originally from KC but spent my last four years in the little apple. I joined KCDC for the opportunity to work alongside my peers on urban design and revitalization for my hometown.

Taryn Vogan
Taryn Vogan decided to finish her last year of school at KCDC because she loves Kansas City and enjoys what the downtown has to offer. Taryn’s goal for the semester is to try every coffee shop in the KC metro area and would love your suggestions!

Braydn Voorhees
My name is Braydn Voorhees. I am a fifth year Architecture student. I decided to spend my final year at KCDC to study design at a different scale. So far it has been an amazing experience to study the city that you live in.

Madi Wieseler
I’m Madi and I have grown up in KC ever since I was little. For the past four years I went to K-State in Manhattan for Architecture school. Although I do miss Manahattan, I am happy to be back in my home city. Not only is it nice to change up my scenery but I have excited to continue to experience new parts of KC and lean more about this city through a different lens.

Aurora Wilson
My name is Aurora Wilson and I am finishing up my masters at KCDC in order to develop my skills in architecture and planning and get some real-world experience with community involvement while spending some time in KC (where I hope to work after graduation).

Design is in the Details

As we reach the last several weeks of the semester, we are increasingly focused on the details of our design. Especially among the trails and park spaces being created throughout the site, we are examining different systems of railings, materials, and the construction of details for raised pathways.

We have implemented a kit of parts to create a system of pavilion-like elements that can become a symbol of identity for the area and be a constant force that connects the areas. These can be modified based on their specific location to account for the degree of enclosure, wind, light, and other factors while still abiding by the same language of design.

As the concepts for the housing developments are pushed forward, materiality choices and detailing of the facade systems are emerging in both the North and South sites. This helps us understand how our designs will look and act in reality, which helps us evaluate the strength of our original concepts. Certain elements will reach a greater level of detail, while others will remain largely conceptual. Smaller items such as railings and the elevated trail construction have the opportunity to reach a high level of specificity.

We hope to continue the development of these details as well as strengthen our conceptual designs as the semester wraps up. The details elements we are pursuing should reinforce the overall concepts and bring a sense of identity to the riverfront.

Design Development

As the spring semester marches onward, the studio is focusing on further developing our design proposals for each of the four nodes. Going into more detail about the proposed spaces, activities, and buildings, each node group is experimenting with different design iterations for their area, with an emphasis on creating meaningful and usable spaces for the surrounding neighborhoods.

Rendering of the proposed experience underneath the I-70 interchange, which would connect to Kaw Point and St. Johns Park.

The north group, which is focusing on the areas of Kaw Point and James Street in the Central Industrial District/West Bottoms, is looking at ways to utilize the space underneath the I-70 interchange and draw people’s attention to the Kansas River. Below to the left is a plan of the proposed I-70 underpass park with pedestrian trails, an amphitheater, and river overlook space. To the right is a 3D model of the proposed residential development along James Street and riverfront terracing.

The south group, which is focused on the neighborhood of Armourdale, is examining ways to connect people to the Kansas River, create usable outdoor spaces for recreation, and increase density in otherwise underutilized areas. The left image below is a proposed plan of the area in Armourdale along 7th Street, showing a wide variety of outdoor spaces including sports courts, terraced seating along the river, and natural river cleaning elements to help remove contaminants from the Kansas River. To the right is a section of the area near Hyvee Arena showing ideas for elevated walkways along the river.

Along with the continued support of our Advisory Board, the KCDC studio has also been in contact with numerous community members and stakeholders within our site boundaries which has helped us further curtail our designs to meet the needs of the community. After a successful public meeting on February 25th, the next steps for the studio are to continue developing design iterations for our next professional review on March 29th and continue reaching out to community members and stakeholders.

Fall Semester Begins

Moving forward from our professional review last semester focused on our conceptual node studies, the studio is continuing to investigated these four nodes and their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to further understand what the best design proposals that could revitalize the nodes and their surroundings.

The proposed concepts for the Kansas River stretch were rooted in understanding existing site conditions and improving upon them instead of creating a completely new concept. Studying existing zoning maps as well as existing businesses helps us design with intention.

Additionally, further analysis into traffic counts for both local and highway use was applied to all four nodes. This revealed dilemmas with routing traffic differently and how it would affect the proposed public spaces as they are in close proximity to traffic infrastructure.

Our next project review is February 19th and we hope to get feedback from our advisors as to where the studio should move with our design and if the overall river concept still holds considering the node design elements. We are also holding our first public meeting on February 25th and hope to get feedback from community members and business owners in the area on what they would like to see happen and how our designs could benefit those that live and work in Strawberry Hill, CID, and Armourdale.