Case Studies
Religious and Cultural
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
Kansas City, MO
Client: Kauffman Performing Arts Center
Architect: Moshe Safdie & Associates; BNIM Architects
Size: 286,000 SF
Completion: 2011
The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is a world-class entertainment facility in Kansas City, Missouri. The Center features two state-of-the-art performance venues: an 1,800-seat Proscenium Theater (home to the Kansas City Ballet and the Lyric Opera) and a 1,600-seat Concert Hall (home to the Kansas City Symphony).
The Theater, Hall, and back-of-house areas are constructed of structural concrete and are separated by an acoustical joint to eliminate the transfer of sound from one area to the next. The building is enclosed by a distinctive clamshell high roof consisting of structural steel, precast concrete, metal roofing and a cable-supported glass-system atrium.
The project also includes a 4-level parking structure that will accomodate 1,024 cars.
The shear complexity of the project mandated a full-time Building Information Modeling professional to create 3D models and 2D concrete placement shop drawings. Utilization of BIM made it possible to locate construction joints, pour breaks and mechanical openings in advance of actual work. Click here to read more about BIM on this project.
Glass
The Kauffman Center incorporates over 48,300 square feet of glass in the atrium alone. Before construction of the glass ceiling and walls began, an 18-step testing process was required to assure that the curtain walls would be air and water tight. Testing was also performed to assure that the glass structure would withstand the loads required by the design team, including the weather it would face in Kansas City. A full-size replica of the southwest corner of the Grand Lobby was built and underwent extensive testing including thermal cycling, structural proof load testing, wall deflection and movement and breakage.
Concrete
The Kauffman Center has 30,000 cubic yards of concrete, nearly one third of it in the foundation. The foundation system is a cost-savings combination of spread footings where the loads aren't as heavy and drilled piers in areas where column loads are higher. Additionally, a complex rock anchor shoring system performs the task of retaining the exposed shale and limestone bedrock face as well as providing lateral support for the north wall of the parking garage and south wall of the Kauffman Center. The south wall anchors the structural cables from the Performing Arts Center's glass-enclosed grand lobby.
Sustainability
Although the Kauffman Center will not be seeking LEED certification, it does incorporate sustainable elements. When the project was designed in 2001, the LEED process was only available for office buildings, not for massive entertainment structures and redesign would have proved too disruptive and costly. Still, the project provides green roofs which reduces the effects of accumulated heat. Also, since the building itself consists of a "box-in-box construction", it is inherently well-sealed and insulated providing efficiency in excess of governmental standards.
Awards:
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Concrete Promotional Group - Excellence in Concrete - 2009
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Architectural Design - Capstone Award - 2010
