KCRag Forum

Driving up SW Blvd this thing is going to be quite prominent

moderne wrote: ↑Thu Jan 17, 2019 3:46 pm Coming out the north entrance of Kauffman Center the meeting/parking structure is massive. Almost like a hulking modern sibling of Municipal Auditorium. It really is too bad that Kaufman Center faces south not north.

Agree and said this from the start. Would love to see those remarkable curves mixed in with the skyline.
And the huge "front" (glass) entrance looking out into the heart of downtown core would have been grand beyond measure. A forever wasted opportunity as Kaufmann wanted to view south instead of the still lagging downtown at the time. Now her decision looks stupid at best.

Wow, tough crowd. That south view is pretty sweet.

Who can conjure a google view of what we're missing if the shells were switched?

I really don't like it.

First of all, it's a building that's designed to face south. The architecture came after the site, as is true with most buildings. If the building was designed to face north, it would've looked seriously different.

Second, the view north of the lot sucks. Instead of looking over a valley towards crown center, Union Station and liberty memorial, you'd be looking at Bartle Hall's south end, its parking lot, the ballroom's front lawn, and a pretty poor angle on the skyline, of which some of the dominant features being the P&L building's blank backside, the crown plaza, the Marriott, and only a sliver of a few other skyscrapers. No thanks.

little higher up will be better than streetview but I'm overall not pleased with the building design...especially the south side.

TheLastGentleman wrote: ↑Thu Jan 17, 2019 8:12 pm Second, the view north of the lot sucks. Instead of looking over a valley towards crown center, Union Station and liberty memorial, you'd be looking at Bartle Hall's south end, its parking lot, the ballroom's front lawn, and a pretty poor angle on the skyline, of which some of the dominant features being the P&L building's blank backside, the crown plaza, the Marriott, and only a sliver of a few other skyscrapers. No thanks.

Good points but your screen shot of the street view doesn't tell the entire story. Had they faced the main entry north the building would have been angled northwest instead of southeast. The ballroom, Convention hotel, planned high end boutique hotel and the 670 cap/park would have been at the front door. And the city would definitely do something substantial with the surface lot. And the views from upper balconies looking out toward downtown through 4-5 floors of glass would have been spectacular.

Would have been a big fight over the convention hotel.

Shinatoo: because the hotel would have blocked the view of downtown?

You guys are nuts. I love how it faces the south. That view is pretty amazing with Crown Center and Liberty Memorial and the Crossroads district. It really shows hos much larger downtown KC is beyond the Loop. The view from the Arts Center looking NE would give you a nice view of the P&L Tower and a few other buildings, but that view is not the as good. Plus, the glass front of the arts center looks great with the skyline behind. Not so sure it would look at good if the building were reversed.

The pedestrian experience and entire south half of this project is literally trash.

KCPowercat wrote: ↑Fri Jan 18, 2019 12:58 am The pedestrian experience and entire south half of this project is literally trash.

The hotel or performing arts center? Most arts centers don't have a great pedestrian experience. They are similar to convention centers. I'm sure the southside of the hotel (ballroom) is bad though and that connects directly to the urban fabric of the city, so it should be better. But again, pretty typical for a large convention hotel.

anonkcmo wrote: ↑Thu Jan 17, 2019 11:18 pmAnd the city would definitely do something substantial with the surface lot.

I'm almost 100% certain they would do nothing with it. Remember, there are still surface lots right downhill from the current building with no plans in sight.

anonkcmo wrote: ↑Thu Jan 17, 2019 11:18 pmAnd the views from upper balconies looking out toward downtown through 4-5 floors of glass would have been spectacular.

The brilliance of the built design is that you get a wonderful view regardless of where you are in the building. You can even be outside the front door. This is because you're looking a long distance across a dramatic valley, and also because there's a very legitimate skyline over there to look at. No need to climb up to the top levels.



In a way, it's almost beneficial to direct patron's attention towards the lesser skyline since it emphasizes that the city has two substantial skylines. They've surely seen the financial district skyline by that point, but probably hadn't noticed Crown Center's. Makes the city feel a lot bigger.

I've also read that the lobby was designed to be like a terrarium, where an observer from Liberty Memorial could watch the silhouettes in the lobby milling around. I just really like that idea and don't think it would work if aimed north.

Anyways, this thread has derailed long enough that we're confusing projects. Time to talk hotel again.

Walking by today I noticed they have started construction of the elevated walkway connecting the ballroom.

GRID wrote: ↑Fri Jan 18, 2019 1:01 am

KCPowercat wrote: ↑Fri Jan 18, 2019 12:58 am The pedestrian experience and entire south half of this project is literally trash.

The hotel or performing arts center? Most arts centers don't have a great pedestrian experience. They are similar to convention centers. I'm sure the southside of the hotel (ballroom) is bad though and that connects directly to the urban fabric of the city, so it should be better. But again, pretty typical for a large convention hotel.

Hotel.

missingkc wrote: ↑Thu Jan 17, 2019 11:48 pm Shinatoo: because the hotel would have blocked the view of downtown?

Correct.

Never get why people get so worked up about a project when it is not even near completion. And the Arts Center is perfect the way it is.

Yeah I missed that we are railing on the PAC in this thread....that thing is awesome.

Do we know if the elevated crossing is an entry into Bartle or just to cross the street? I forget which is the case.

KCPowercat wrote: ↑Fri Jan 18, 2019 12:58 am The pedestrian experience and entire south half of this project is literally trash.

THIS ALSO.

flyingember wrote: ↑Fri Jan 18, 2019 12:12 pm Do we know if the elevated crossing is an entry into Bartle or just to cross the street? I forget which is the case.

Entry. Big use will be for the catering.