Review

Kansas City design community builds with art in mind — not as an afterthought

The exterior of the 2007 Sprint Center, 1400-block of Grand Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, includes Chris Doyle's "The Moons" and is one of the many recent construction projects to include visual art in the Kansas City region. Photo: Kevin Yelton, courtesy of Gould Evans

A version of this story appeared in the October 2008 print issue of Review.

by Anthony Rohr

If you recall your art history lessons, you likely remember the Renaissance period — a Western European cultural movement promoting and celebrating intellect and artistry in all facets of life. One facet of everyday life profoundly impacted by this movement was the built environment. Renaissance men such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michaelangelo were considered to be both artists and architects, both scientists and scholars. For them, art was as much a part of architecture as science was a part of the structural system supporting a cathedral dome.  Artistic expression was both synonymous with and a core fiber of the architecture they created.

Jumping forward in time, one could argue that Kansas City is perhaps undergoing a renaissance of its own — one in which art and architecture are having a profound impact on our built environment. Supported by programs such as the City of Kansas City Missouri’s One Percent for Art program and the recently introduced AtA-KC — the Art through Architecture program — this movement not only fundamentally supports the artistic community — locally, and nationally in some cases — but provides a greater gift to the community in the form of an enhanced visual and cultural experience at each site that subscribes to this theory.

How exciting that art in our built environment has new focus and inclusion in the design process. The question now is how the many teammates in any significant building project are working together to champion the idea of art in architecture that is more than complimentary in form but rather actually provides a sense of inevitability in the way the two “collaborate."

How do we engage and experience art and architecture?

On the surface

If nothing else, we, as architects, planners, and designers must encourage clients to plan for an active art program. As champions of art and architecture at this level, we would design thoughtful environments for quality art to be viewed and appreciated. This approach would enrich the final environment and could be easily accomplished if included in the early planning for the project. The artworks in these instances are from clients' personal collections, from local galleries, commissioned from an artist, or from an open competition.

Now, it is one thing to add art to a lobby wall and hope there is appropriate lighting, placement, and setting for it — it is quite another to thoughtfully design the architecture to provide vistas, quiet moments, and simple backgrounds for art to flourish, without designing a museum.

Brent Collins' "Millennium Arc" is in the atrium of The Matt Ross Community Center on the 8100-block of Marty Street in Overland Park, Kansas, which includes $100,000 of artwork from local and regional artists. Photo: Kevin Yelton, courtesy of Gould Evans

For example, take the Matt Ross Community Center in Overland Park, Kansas. This project represents a significant effort on behalf of the city to embrace the broader community in the design and overall experience of the public building. A $100,000 project art budget was dedicated to the purchase of the building’s art, all from local and regional artists, with a focus on ensuring diversity in the artist and subject matter — a great example of how art can be enjoyed at the most primary stage of art in architecture.

H&R Block, Sprint, Cerner, American Century, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, the Kansas City Public Library, and many others have made similar commitments toward artwork that enlivens their facilities and supports the local creative community.

In the design

Including art in the final building solution has led to an even more proactive approach toward the integration of art in architecture. More and more architects are including artists on their design teams, providing a framework for strong ideas to emerge early in the process without being encumbered with construction details. This collaboration brings to the forefront the sense of freedom that accompanies the spirit of architecture, drawing upon the inspiration of the project’s artist.

The projection wall in the Regnier Center at Johnson County Community College can project a variety of subjects, from new-media art installations to promotional images. Photo: JCCC Regnier Center. Photo: Michael Spillers ©2008

In the case of the new Regnier Center and Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas, the separate building programs followed the college’s longstanding philosophy of art as an intellectual stimulant. For years, JCCC has had a campus-wide collection, integrating sculpture throughout the site, as well as 2-D and 3-D focus collections throughout the public areas of the building interiors. Works of art are always approachable there, and their placement introduces the experience to those who may not otherwise make the effort to visit artwork in a museum.

Two particular installations in the connected buildings exemplify the idea of art in architecture by integrating naturally into their structural settings. They are large enough to engage the surrounding community, visible by passers-by on the streets, as well as by campus pedestrians.  From inside, they are visible by the building users, enlivening the interior experience and continuing to make this strong tie between the everyday experiences embodied in art and technology.

As a community, we are fortunate to have the previously mentioned programs, One Percent for Art and AtA-KC, to encourage and sustain the art movement in the Kansas City area. The City of Kansas City, Missouri’s program, initiated by an ordinance passed by its city council in 1986, states that any new building project or building renovation project undertaken by the city must have one percent of total design and estimated construction costs set aside for the commissioning of a work of art related to the project. This initiative has brought forth such great examples of public art as the Bartle Hall Sky Stations, Bull Wall at the American Royal, and Three Figures / Fifteen Elements at the Kansas City International Airport, and most recently the Sprint Center’s The Moons. Though many of these operate as installations not related to a specific architectural building design, the approach is healthy and undoubtedly will continue.

The Art through Architecture program is the newest of these initiatives and was created to incentivize and support the collection and commissioning of works by artists who live within a 60-mile radius of Kansas City through the practice of architecture. The program is being developed by the Kansas City Chapter of AIA and the Charlotte Street Foundation and fundamentally connects AIA-KC architects and their clients with local artists for the purpose of providing hands-on services to support, guide, and promote the integration of local art into new architectural projects. By participating in this program, and through the collection and commissioning of local art, architects and their clients can receive art achievement certificates for their projects as well as qualify for media exposure, annual exhibitions, and AIA awards programs. Overall, it is a great tool to advance the principles of architectural and artistic design collaboration.

You employ stone, wood, and concrete, and with these materials you build houses and palaces: that is construction. Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly you touch my heart, you do me good. I am happy and I say: "This is beautiful. That is Architecture. Art enters in …."

— (Vers une architecture, 1923) Le Corbusier

One final thought: the guilt would never escape me if I did not make a pitch and a challenge to the architectural community to do great work — by which I mean to create great, artful buildings that are architecture and not merely shelter. Great architecture is inspiring and artful in space, light, texture and rhythm and should have a great long-term impact on the quality of our entire city

The installation under the cantilever of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art at Johnson County Community College is graced with Leo Villareal's installation of 60,000 white LED lights to create an ever-changing environment. Photo: Timothy Hursley

The Bloch Building addition at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art at JCCC — both buildings for celebrating art — are also serious artistic endeavors unto themselves that make powerful, iconic statements in form and context.

In the future, I hope we can continue to encourage all design professionals and building clients, private and public, to embrace art in architecture in traditional and non-traditional ways. The support of the civic, educational and business leadership coupled with the great talent of this city’s art and architecture community could further enhance an artistic renaissance in Kansas City.

-re-

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