Thank you to everyone who came out last night for the 2nd community charrette of the West Bottoms Vision Study for a System of Public Spaces, and a very special thank you to our generous host The Mulberry Room, who provided an inspiring place for our students to show their work.
If you didn't make it to our meeting, we still want to here from you!! Click here to fill out our site selection survey.
The infamous Laramie Lake maintains a strong presence the day after a storm.
There is heated debate brewing at the Kansas City Design Center: Which potential public spaces should we investigate further, and which ones should we move on from? It's a question that demands a lot of research on-site and feedback from experts of the area.
At the Mulberry Room, students presented their proposed system of connections: a framework that supports the selection of potential public spaces.
1st Public Meeting
February 23rd was our first public meeting, where we presented our initial analysis of the West Bottoms. We sparked a dialogue with visitors, asking them about their favorite spaces, how often they visited, and what they liked or disliked about the West Bottoms. This feedback helped us see if our previous findings aligned with what users actually experienced. We are applying this data to our selection process of potential public spaces.
LISC Visit
Back in September, our study was selected by the National Endowment for the Arts for a pilot program that delivers tailored assistance for creative placemaking projects. Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) and PolicyLink are managing this program and will provide knowledge and resources on the creation of a economically, culturally, and physically sustainable community through integration of arts and culture in community development work. Representatives from LISC visited the KCDC the first week of March, and we had the opportunity to take them on a tour of the West Bottoms so they could witness first-hand the character, grit, and frictions across the districts. They gave us some really great feedback, and we're excited to continue to work with them in the future as we delve further into the project.
Better Block
Dovetailing with the West Bottoms study, KCDC Professor Jason Brody and his students are in the midst of designing this year's Better Block KC intervention in the West Bottoms, along 11th Street within the Historic Core. If you're unfamiliar, the Better Block project is a nationwide movement that seeks to transform streets to show the potential for great, walkable, vibrant neighborhoods. Students are considering the feasibility of sunshading devices, designated parking, stormwater management techniques, and appropriating loading docks as a raised sidewalk and outdoor seating area. This event will occur during West Bottom's Heritage Week, from May 5th to 12th. If you're interested in learning more about this project, or want to know how you can get involved, please contact Professor Jason Brody.
At the Better Block meeting, preliminary ideas were presented and critiqued
Next Public Meeting
Currently, the students are traversing all the nooks of the West Bottoms to find the most interesting spaces. Our hearts are captured by the oblique views of weathered brick warehouses, our attention is latched to screaming trains and skimming planes, and our souls are humbled by the cathedral-esque structures of highway viaducts.
We are learning to appreciate the West Bottoms as so many already do. Please join us for our second public meeting and let us know why you appreciate these areas too. We will present our analysis of various potential public spaces that we believe have qualities worth preserving and enhancing. We ask for your stories, concerns, and proposals for these sites.*
This community charrette will run from 5:30pm-7pm on Thursday, March 16th, at the beautiful Mulberry Room, located at 1321 W 13th Street, KCMO 64102. We hope to see you there!
*For those unable to attend the public meeting, please fill out our site selection survey online.
“Every time I visit the West Bottoms I am surprised by another nook that I didn’t notice before or another juxtaposition that you can only see from standing in a particular location. It’s these discoveries that make the West Bottoms such an interesting place. ”
After weeks of general analysis of the West Bottoms, the students at the Kansas City Design Center are starting to hone in on prospective sites for their creative placekeeping project. The purpose of this project is to select three potential sites to be designated as public space with an emphasis on integrating public art, in all its forms. The whole design process will be augmented with frequent stakeholder and community feedback, as well as guidance from three consultant artists: Miranda Clark, Carmen Moreno, and Jim Woodfill.
Regnier Chair and architect Gonçalo Byrne made his first visit to Kansas City in order to aid students in their analysis of the West Bottoms. We returned the favor by showing him some of the highlights of Kansas City, including brunch at Affäre, a brewery tour at Boulevard, and many visits to the West Bottoms.
With Gonçalo and lead project artist Jim Woodfill's aid, the students developed a framework for which to base the rest of the project off of. This framework includes a system of Gateways, Corridors, and Nodes. Gateways are the entry points into the West Bottoms, which are few and far between due to the seclusion caused by the rivers to the north and west as well as the cliff to the east. The only entry points are through highway infrastructure and a few local road viaducts. Following these entry points are the main corridors that move you through the West Bottoms. These corridors vary in quality, but are the subject of streetscape improvement plans by Phronesis and KEM STUDIO. These corridors are planned to be multi-modal to accommodate cars, trucks, bikes, and pedestrians. Ideally, KCDC's public space will be easily accessible from one of these corridors. Corridors then lead to nodes, which are centers of activity in the West Bottoms. The pedestrian nodes of the Historic Core and the Stockyards District have many artist galleries, shops, restaurants, and bars. Contrasting - but equally prominent - is the industrial node in the northwest portion of the West Bottoms. This area is home to many distributors, garages, and factories. Gateways, Corridors, and Nodes make up a comprehensive system for KCDC's studies to build off of.
The West Bottoms is simultaneously big and small. In order to make site analysis of the entire area more manageable, the students devised six site typologies. These typologies include alleys, missing teeth, courtyards, under overpasses, islands, and open areas. Each of these types have different spatial qualities and therefore different possibilities for becoming public spaces.
This map shows all the six site typologies within the West Bottoms.
Recently, the studio gained two more consultant artists. Miranda Clark is a photographer and sculptor who focuses on architectural forms and negative spaces. Carmen Moreno is a sculptor and performance artist who focuses on urban environments and their relationship to native ecosystems. Together with Jim Woodfill, these artists will offer critique and new perspectives throughout the entire project.
Next, we will evaluate and narrow down our prospective sites. Then we will seek stakeholder and community feedback on our process and site selections. If you have a passion for the West Bottoms, please join us for this very important public meeting in order to let your voice be heard. Our site selection meeting will occur at the back room of Rockstar Burgers at 5:30pm on Thursday, February 23rd. The address of Rockstar Burgers is 1611 Genessee St, Kansas City, MO 64102.
