NICOLE.KUBAS@GMAIL.COM 573-268-2205
NICOLE KUBAS
Figure Ground + Park System
Existing Green + Civic Space
Streets + Park System
Topography + Park System
Kansas City Design Center is a collaborative studio of graduate students that study at both Kansas State University and University of Kansas. The graduate students majored in architecture, planning, landscape architecture, or interior architecture. The studio is geared toward studying Kansas City’s urban context and formulating design proposals. Upon researching the current conditions of public space in Downtown, the design studio found that Kansas City had vast amounts of under-utilized parking lots and vacant lots. These spaces left huge gaps within the city’s urban fabric, making the downtown area unsuitable for pedestrian traffic. Another contributing factor to the less than ideal urban core is the immense number of highway systems intersecting in the downtown area. The numerous and wide highways create
URBAN DESIGN COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF GREEN AND CIVIC SPACES OF DOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
North-South Section
East-West Section
Section Locations
large pedestrian barriers that fragment the city into districts. Dividing the city in such a way has created social isolation as well as disinvested areas. In addition to a weak urban fabric, Kansas City faces major problems of physical stress on combined sewer systems and outdated infrastructure. For a number of decades, the downtown area dealt with a low population density in the urban core. In recent years, however, the downtown population has slowly increased, as the city has invested money and given tax incentives to promote revitalization efforts.
Vision Plan
Anchor Parks
Infill Parks
To resolve the current issues of urban Kansas City, the studio formed a vision plan comprised of three components: Anchor Parks, Corridors, and Infill Parks. Anchor Parks serve as regional parks for the city. They are related to history, topography, and location. Infill Parks are temporary parks that exist in currently under-utilized surface parking lots or vacant lots. They provide small pocket-sized green spaces to the residents and employees of downtown. This type of park is lacking in Kansas City’s urban core.
URBAN DESIGN VISION PLAN OF DOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI PARK SYSTEM
Network of Corridors
Beardsley Road-Third Street Parti
Parti of Corridor Network
Corridors are multi-modal transportation routes throughout the downtown area. These circulation routes favor pedestrian and non-motorized transportation but still maintain motorized transportation. The network of corridors ties into on-going and proposed city projects. Along the corridors, small ‘intervention spaces’ provide added amenities to the surrounding context. These amenities are determined by demographic studies, existing amenities, and stakeholder input. The intervention spaces create a strong pedestrian friendly environment while encouraging ‘spill-over’ effect for the area.
URBAN DESIGN CORRIDOR COMPONENT OF VISION PLAN
Beardsley Road-Third Street Corridor, from the vision plan, was chosen for the design development phase of the project. This three mile stretch runs through three of the eleven downtown districts and provides connecting points to an additional two districts. The Beardsley Road segment runs north to south, following along Kansas City’s major bluff. The hidden road is an unobstructed way of getting around the city’s urban core. As the road reaches the north, Beardsley Road ends, becoming Third Street. Third Street has a vastly different context. While Beardsley Road lies within bluff, Third Street has a moderately dense context. The up-and-coming area contains the city’s farmers’ market as well as housing for single professionals. Third Street continues into another district of the town, Columbus Square. This district, currently comprised of families and some small businesses, is in need of additional gentrification. The design of the corridor changes as it travels through multiple contexts. The southern portion of Beardsley Rd. reflects the surrounding residential area and adjacent school by providing a recreational area, learning landscape, and trail head. As Beardsley Rd. continues north the surroundings transform into a natural environment. The wide right of way allows for a large bike and pedestrian lane along with an outlook towards the West Bottoms district.
URBAN DESIGN BEARDSLEY ROAD-THIRD STREET CORRIDOR (DESIGN DEVELOPMENT)
Hwy 9 Intervention 3rd-Grand Intersection
Viaduct Event Space
Outlook
Trail Head
Connections to City and Park Systems
Enhancing the existing conditions provides an amenity to the area and enables pedestrians to circulate within the greater downtown more easily. The pedestrian path also intersects an existing park and trail, creating a loop for greater utilization of the existing park system. Trail Head + Learning Landscape
Outlook
Mid-Deck Looking East
Mid-Deck Looking West
Viaduct Location in Kansas City, MO
URBAN DESIGN BEARDSLEY ROAD (VIADUCT MID-DECK EVENT SPACE)
View of Three Decks
Proposed Design
Site Section
Plan of Proposed Design
The Twelfth Street Viaduct is a three level deck connecting the higher Loop district to the low lying West Bottoms district. The mid-level portion of the deck travels perpendicularly west of Beardsley Road. East of the mid-deck is an overgrown bluff and steep slope, leaving a ‘No-Man’sLand’ and fragmenting the Loop and West Bottoms districts. The proposed design would close the mid-deck to motor vehicles, allowing only pedestrian and non-motorized traffic, and providing a loggia space for fairs and city events. The portion of the design that adds a built structure would include a bridging stage, theater seating, and pedestrian connection.
Proposed Design Looking East
Street Section
The Third Street and Grand Boulevard intersection is currently a major transit stop for regional and local busses. The intersection is a proposed streetcar stop and bike share location. As the intersection exists now, there is no apparent distinction between motorized and non-motorized traffic areas. Each corner of the intersection currently contains parking lots. The design addresses these problems by clearly defining the motorized and nonmotorized transportation routes, while facilitating multiple transit stops.
URBAN DESIGN THIRD STREET (GRAND BOULEVARD-THIRD STREET INTERSECTION: TRANSIT HUB)
Plan of Third - Grand Intersection
Highway 9: Right-of-way
In addition, the design proposes a parking garage, cafe waiting area and two plazas to replace the parking lots. Highway 9 passes over Third Street creating right-of-way space underneath and along side of it. The space disconnects the Rivermarket district and Columbus Sq. districts. The proposed design for the land would create a connection between the two districts and provide much needed amenities for the residents. The two large plots adjacent to the highway are designed to be a dog park on the west side, and a community garden and bike kiosk on the east. The bike kiosk is located at the intersection point between the design corridor and an existing bike route to North Kansas City. Underneath the underpass, an urban skate park is envisioned.
ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING MENNONITE CHURCH
West Elevation
North Elevation
East Elevation
The Manhattan, Kansas Mennonite community looked into building a new facility. On a tight budget, the church asked students of Kansas State University architecture department to design a building that would embody their beliefs and style of church services. The beliefs of the church center around a pastoral style service and a more simplistic natural lifestyle. The church asked for a building that would not only function as a service space, but also as a school and gathering space. The design of the building and the surrounding landscape were not distinguished as two entities, but rather treated as a whole. Obscuring the edge of each allowed one to merge into the other. Not only was there little distinction between interior and exterior, the building’s skin could be opened to facilitate flow between interior and exterior spaces when weather permitted.
Ground Floor Plan
Site Plan
ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING MENNONITE CHURCH
Second Floor Plan
D C
North-South Section
E
Detail D
Detail E
Section C
HAND-BUILT MODELS STONE GALLERY
HAND-BUILT MODEL GRANITE SANCTUARY
PHOTOGRAPHY SAINT FRANCIS SERAPH CATHOLIC CHURCH (KANSAS CITY, MO)
Kansas City’s East Bottoms district is the site of the photography study. The district was a residential area for eastern European immigrants in the early 20th century. During the mid and late 20th century, the district became more industrialized. The conflict between different land uses and the trend for citizens to move from the city to the suburbs left the area desolate. Consequently, the once vibrant Catholic church became useless. The photography project captures the vacant Catholic church and an adjacent parcel scattered with abandon machinery.