A healthy building for all

To better serve its urban residents, the City of Kansas City Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners wanted to build a new, state-of-the-art community center to replace the existing, outdated and underutilized one. A five-acre site in Swope Park was identified, and KAI assisted the City in determining the location within the site for a new 45,000 SF, $10 million community center.

After successful community engagement meetings, designers collaborated with the City’s staff and stakeholders to ensure all needs were met. The design was intended to integrate itself into the existing urban setting and minimize any disruption of the existing park character by using existing land contours, colors, textures and locally quarried stone. The building’s orientation and various elements, such as overhangs and window recesses, were carefully chosen to minimize summer heat gain, thereby reduce energy cost and maximize winter day lighting. Careful consideration of interior space arrangements allowed for convenient access to various activities including recreation areas, crafts, classrooms and meeting rooms that can be used simultaneously without disruption.

The City was committed to achieving LEED certification at the Silver level, so KAI emphasized a number of interior LEED design credits utilizing natural materials, lighting, air quality and promoting a “healthy” building while keeping in harmony with the parks natural setting.