The End of the Semester

It's been a crazy semester at KCDC and just as quickly as it started, it came to an end. We ended with an incredible Open House and a professional Review showcasing both the Art in the Loop and Recycling Vision Study. Thank you very much to everyone that came out for both of those events!

The task for Art in the Loop was to design a system for selecting future art sites and it's been an exciting process. After many meetings with the artists and the advisory group, we have selected 23 sites dispersed all around the downtown loop that will increase the impact of Art in the Loop and bring art to spaces we might not have thought of before. Each site was documented extensively so that the curators and the artists have information that can determine the possibilities for the site and make art that fits perfectly into its site.

The Recycling Vision study concluded with 4 site-specific designs that address various goals we'd determined last semester in the Vision Plan. We looked at a cluster, which focuses on increasing efficiency for both the hauler and the users, an organic node which takes on organic waste as a large portion of the waste stream, a showcase node, which is focused on awareness, and the links which are about increasing access and also education and awareness. It also culminated in some pretty cool models including one with a working hand crank from the clusters group!

Both of these projects have taught us all a lot about Urban Design and what that entails in Kansas City. Art in the Loop is not a project type that we’ve encountered before. However, by using design thinking and with the help of the artists, we were able to think about public art differently in order to better serve Downtown Kansas City. For recycling, we’ve all left with an increased knowledge of the recycling process and why it is so important to recycle. Hopefully, we’ve changed some of our audience’s minds as well when thinking about recycling and its potential to create a more livable public realm in Kansas City!

Showcase Node at Main and Truman

Organic Node at 12th and Holmes

Even though both projects are now complete, the work is not over yet! We’ll be working on the final studio publication as well as doing presentations to various stakeholders in Kansas City that have an interest in the project. Also, if you didn’t have time to make it to Open House, the work is still on display in our gallery!