The Unified Goverment of Wyandotte County and Kansas City has invited KCDC to exhibit our visioning study for the West Bottoms in Three Parts project. The exhibition will be up through December in the lobby of City Hall, located at 701 N 7th st, KCK. Check it out and let us know what you think!
As previously announced, I have decided to retire from active teaching and leading KCDC. I am extremely grateful for the productive teaching career I've had at Kansas State University and in particular the opportunity to build and lead Kansas City Design Center for the last fifteen years. Beyond its academic foundation, KCDC has become an instance and an agency for seeking and envisioning a better city for all and I am extremely proud of what we have been able to achieve. However, none of that would have been possible without great community and civic partners who invested trust and support in us, funding benefactors, support of academic and professional communities, inspiring and committed KCDC staff, and above all hard work, talent, and perseverance of the KCDC students I have had the privilege to work with. I remain profoundly and humbly thankful to you all. KCDC stands in good hands, and I am very enthused about the next generation of KCDC faculty and their ability to bring the program to the succeeding level of excellence and impact.
Vladimir Krstic Academic Programs Director Emeritus
Greetings from the KCDC studio! We've been busy since our last post, growing in numbers (we had 9 students join the studio!) and advancing the project based on recent feedback and insights. We recently had the pleasure of joining city planner Gunner Hand on a site visit and walking tour from Kaw Point down to Central Avenue. The visit provided an opportunity to discuss both the opportunities and challeges of Kansas City, Kansas; its extant connection to the river and amazing views of downtown KCMO being two of them.
During the site visit with Gunner, we had a great discussion about the edge of the city and how we can better define it. Currently, the city is defined by backyards, empty lots, alleyways, and the frontage of the buildings, which doesn't clearly define the edge. As the group focused on the Kansas City, Kansas riverfront area, our goal is to further define the edge of the city while encouraging circulation to the West Bottoms and investigating the potential connection of Kansas City, Kansas to the riverfront. KCK is just a few blocks away from the river, but the existence of Interstate 70 acts as a wall that blocks the city from the river, hindering many views of the downtown KCMO skyline. One of our primary goals is to mitigate this issue and explore ways to improve the urban fabric without hindering what's currently there.
Historic 1901 map of Kansas City, Kansas
As a result of these observations, the studio is proposing developments that increase a sense of community within KCK and focus more on the pedestrian experience. We plan to pay homage to the historic city grid of KCK in the development of the project, extending the present city grid closer to the river and connecting it down to where we are proposing riverfront development in our design scheme.
We're excited about the possibilities for this project and the opportunity to enhance the urban fabric of KCK. Stay tuned for more updates on our progress!
