KCRag Forum

KCPowercat wrote:that huge concrete area seems like wasted space...where are the fountains?

aknowledgeableperson wrote:Don't need fountains shooting water up into the air because on a windy day the patrons will get wet from the wind spray. A cascading fountain would be nice though. In the middle you don't want anything to attract people to since that could cause some safety concerns. You could have some art work though, maybe on an elevated platform.

KCPowercat wrote:The new interior entryways on 13th street look great. Very modern looking wood with lights underneath. I'll try and get a photo if it gets about freezing anyday.

Reading in Ingrams they were talking about the new improved Bartle and how there will be a 3 story glass entryway which will serve as the primary entrance on 14th street. Acting as a bookend on 14th, with the other bookend being Sprint Center.

Did we already know this? has anybody seen renderings showing this entryway? Sounds cool.

KC will unveil convention center's 'extreme makeover'

To bring the city's convention facilities up to par with the other high-quality facets of Downtown's renaissance, architects and tourism officials began interviewing meeting planners and touring updated convention facilities throughout the country in 2003.

Rick Hughes, president of the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Kansas City, was among the group that toured facilities in Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and San Diego.

None of those facilities can match the high-end finishes that have been added to all 25 meeting rooms in Kansas City's convention complex, Hughes said.

"It's been a huge and total transformation," said Todd Achelpohl, HNTB director of design.

Gone are the concrete-block and tacky carpet-tile walls, gray terrazzo floors and unsightly overhead ducts, conduit and plumbing that used to greet visitors, he said.

In their place, Achelpohl said, are "hotel-like" finishes -- from wood doors to designer carpeting to granite bathroom counters -- that the convention industry is gravitating toward.