Last week, we had the opportunity to represent KCDC studio at the Spirit of Downtown KC Exhibit, held in the Kay Barnes Grand Ballroom ahead of the Downtown KC Annual Luncheon. This event highlighted more than 40 incredible organizations, businesses, development projects, and cultural arts programs that are shaping the future of our city.

It was a great afternoon of connection and conversation. We truly enjoyed engaging with fellow Kansas Citians and sharing more about KCDC’s mission and our current studio project looking at the Central Avenue Bridge.

A huge thank you to Maya, Spencer, James, and Matt for helping transport the site plan and for doing a great job informing attendees about the studio.

This week, each group member was designated as a “steward” to tackle the different objectives for each project. (Urban Design Framework Steward, Bridge Development Steward, Tactile Details Steward). The Tactile Detail Stewards in particular have begun working on tactile prototypes of bridge elements with a final goal being physical section prototypes of guardrails, or details studying materiality and connection within the overall bridge design. Students have been refining their welding skills at El Dorado and learning more about the workshop tools and resources available to the studio.

Seminar

Continuing our focus from last week's KCDC Seminar Class we visited the Kansas City Central Public Library to view the current exhibition, Detoured: The Making of Bruce R. Watkins Drive. We learned more about the making of Highway 71, the resistance to its construction, and the deleterious effects it has had on the black community in Kansas City. This exhibition will be open on the 5th Floor of the Kansas City Central Library until February 28th, 2026.

Exploring Central Avenue by Bike 🚲

Yesterday, our studio took to the streets for a bike ride through KCK’s Central Avenue corridor! 

A huge thank you to CABA, Unified Government, and Mark Horne for facilitating the ride—it was a great way to experience the area firsthand.

Check out our events page for more information on our community meeting at Splitlog Coffee Company, where we’ll share more about our project and gather input from local voices. We’re excited to keep the conversation rolling!

Continuing the progression into this semester’s projects, the studio has made selections for which design concepts will be developed further for the Central Avenue Bridge.  While these selected concepts will move forward, many design elements from the mid-review presentation remain noteworthy. Digital and graphic design are critical in architecture, serving as essential tools for visualizing and communicating design concepts. Below are a few of the collages and renders that were created for the mid-crit to showcase the experience of the connected designs.

Continuing with the KCDC seminar class, on March 27, we hosted Nico Giles for a screening of the documentary he produced titled Land of Opportunity: The Road of Resistance. The screening provided an introduction to the history and impact of the Highway 71 construction in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Kansas City. After the initial viewing, we learned solution-based urban design examples happening in Kansas City from both Max Kaniger (CEO Kanbe’s Market) and Fr. Justin Mathews

(Chief Executive Officer of COO Reconciliation Services/Thelma's Kitchen.) Following that, we participated in a brief workshop where we were tasked with developing ideas that could be considered for the area affected by the highway’s positioning.