Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation - Kansas City, Missouri

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a nationally-recognized organization pursuing the idea of sustainable and healthy communities. Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company helped to express this mission within the 36-acre parcel of reclaimed urban land surrounding the foundation headquarters.

Located along Brush Creek in Kansas City, Missouri, the challenge of casting a corporate entity into a naturalized and reclaimed environment lead to drawing upon the riparian legacy of the Brush Creek Corridor.

JBC expressed the unique character of the site by building on the precedents of Kansas City’s remarkable parks and parkways—many of which were planned in the early 20th century by landscape architect George Kessler (1862-1923). This plan introduces a “Building in a Park” concept that connects the Foundation campus on a human scale within a great city park.

The plan encourages strong community use through bike and walking connections to the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the Country Club Plaza district, and the city’s parkways.

The Kauffman campus plan is a model for urban ecological restoration and community access. A park in itself, this project reclaims one of the most significant urban spaces in Kansas City, preserving it for future generations.

Collaborators 

• Kauffman Foundation | Kansas City, MO

• Kallman, McKinnell & Wood Architects | Boston, MA

Site Features 

• Urban pond with aquatic habitat features

• Native plantings

• Naturalized water features

• Walking loop trail