Diversity reigns for K-State multicultural center project

When Hollis + Miller was engaged to design the new Morris Family Multicultural Student Center for Kansas State University – a space for campus organizations to advance student diversity, social justice and inclusion – the firm gathered a unique team of architects and designers to lead the project.

That team was not only composed of several women, but of diverse professionals who bring a unique perspective of their own. According to Hollis + Miller staff, that type of team in the architecture field is often rare, even in spite of recent progress.

“The project was not only a pleasure but also a blessing for me. Having varied backgrounds made for an easier mental setting. We kept questioning, kept pushing each other and pushing the limits. And being all different helped us identify the goals the client had,” said Ishita Banerjii, a project architect at Hollis + Miller.

One recent survey found that while women comprise about half of architecture graduates, they make up only 20% of licensed architects working in the field. Yet, the unique perspective of the women on the KSU project team – and the diverse backgrounds they come from – led to a more inclusive perspective.

When finished, the new center – set to open this November – will occupy 13,000 SF and serve as the official home for the university’s more than thirty multicultural organizations, serving around 4,000 students. The multicultural center will encourage pedestrian interaction, and will create natural pathways from the rest of campus.

In addition to Banerjii, the Hollis + Miller team included Nicole Rezai (senior interiors), Michelle Iwig-Harmon (structural) and Gabby Coleman (junior architect) among several others. Coleman was able to first contribute to the project while still an architecture student at K-State, when she was asked to provide feedback from a student’s perspective.

“This building represents something more than even the space it will provide. I remember there was this outcry for ways the university could show they were really invested in the experience of students of color. It was just exciting to see the university commit to not only the building, but what it stood for,” Coleman said.

Melanie Luthi, a senior project engineer at McCownGordon, the firm leading the construction on the project, is also involved on the project.

“I have a mixed-race family of my own, and knowing that students and faculty – both past and current – worked so hard to bring to campus a safe and prosperous environment for students like my own children gave me the extra energy and focus to get through a challenging COVID-19 environment to deliver this project timely and with the utmost attention to craft and detail,” Luthi said.

The team is excited for the completion of the project and what it will mean for the current and future students.

“It will make a difference for the next generation,” Banerjii said. “They will feel more comfortable in their own skin. This project has been very inspiring for me.”

Incite Design Studio hires leadership team for new Overland Park office

Incite Design Studio, LLC (iDS), a client-focused architectural design firm, has hired a new leadership team to open its third office.

The recent office addition, located in downtown Overland Park, Kan. at 7930 Santa Fe Drive, will join the firm’s two other offices in Kansas City, Mo. at 110 West 18th Street and in St. Louis, Mo. at 1800 Lafayette Avenue.                                                 

Brian Foxworthy, president of iDS, also recently announced his team for the new Overland Park office. Architect, Duane Cash will lead the team as office director to manage and grow the firm’s efforts in Kansas. Project manager, Mike Brown and job captain, Ariel Peisen Burow will join Cash.  

Foxworthy, who has built the firm from the grassroots into one of the largest education-focused firms based in Kansas City, says he is happy to have found someone with the same core values as himself (in Cash).

“Cash believes in forming relationships and building a practice based on quality service. When the opportunity presented itself to bring him and his team into the iDS family, I jumped at it. It’s not often you meet a group of like-minded folks that understand your vision of success and share your dedication to designing inspiring spaces for our future learners. We couldn’t be more excited to see what the future holds for our firm” Foxworthy said.

Following the firm’s tagline of “architects building relationships,” iDS has developed lasting relationships with school districts across the state of Missouri. The opening of incite Design Studio Kansas shows the commitment to forming relationships with districts throughout Kansas as well.

Cash says their goal is to better serve the Kansas education clients with a studio comprised of a few dedicated teams that can be focused on service.

“Our belief is that when firms get too big, they start to lose the agility, responsiveness, and dedication that our clients deserve. With this approach of three studio offices, we provide the muscle of a big firm, but with the individual guidance, creativity, and empathy of a smaller firm,” said Cash. 

“I’m exhilarated by iDS’s dedication to client service, progressive design, student focused learning, and the use of pioneering technology,” said Cash.

The firm is growing in all three offices. Besides opening the Kansas office, they recently hired Aaron Ledesma as a project manager and Connor Privett as an architectural designer in the KC office.  Marena Modica was hired to head up the interior design efforts in the St. Louis office.

HOK's healthy focus five years post merger

It's been five years since 360 joined HOK in an effort to expand and diversify their markets and talented staff.

"There was a lot of interest in expanding our presence in Kansas City into new markets that HOK already had an established presence in including healthcare, aviation, science and technology and justice," said Chris DeVolder, managing partner with HOK who came from 360 with the acquisition.

Since the acquisition, the healthcare market has proved to be an opportunity for growth and expansion for the firm’s Kansas City office. Both nationally and locally, there's a huge emphasis on bringing in the wellness side - meditation, yoga - into healthcare facilities to treat the well, not just the sick.

"The healthcare market has really grown here because of strategic leadership, a significant amount of healthcare construction in the region and synergies with so many other markets. We continue to find natural synergies between our markets, from workplace to sports projects, there is a natural synergy, said DeVolder.

In addition to healthcare-specific spaces, HOK is seeing healthcare influence in almost every one of their markets.

With 24 offices worldwide, including 15 in the U.S., HOK feels fortunate to have so many resources to tap into.

“The great thing about HOK is because we have an extensive network of healthcare designers, planners and consultants, coupled with industry leaders in every one of our other markets, we can create the most innovative projects by learning from what others in the firm are doing and collaborating with other market sector leaders to deliver the best solutions for our clients,” said Erin Nybo, healthcare practice leader with HOK.

One example of that crossover taking place is within their Sports + Recreation + Entertainment sector. By working closely with healthcare leaders within the firm, they are delivering some of the most advanced spaces for high-performance training and recovery.

The new Hybl Center at University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, for example, brings together academics, clinical practice and training under one roof to facilitate scientific discovery between students, professors, researchers, clinicians, student-athletes and first responders.

"The great news is we are seeing these integrated, advanced approaches to healthcare happening not just on the coasts – they are happening right here," Nybo said.

HOK’s Kansas City office also taps into their internal healthcare group made up of 150 experts – including current and former practitioners, architects, interior designers and their chief medical officer, all with world-leading expertise on topics like pediatrics, oncology, infection control, hospital design, medical office buildings and outpatient care etc., to provide additional and timely insight.

The HOK healthcare consulting group, a small sub-section of the broader practice, uses patient and physician data with regional market data to build robust master plans, for example.

“We have a really high track record of master plans being implemented because of this unique, data-driven approach to design," Nybo said.

The HOK Kansas City and St. Louis offices collaborate often on projects as well. The St. Louis team is leading the design and collaborating with team members in Kansas City for construction administration on the new UMKC Engineering Building.

Healthcare projects in Kansas City include a Stormont-Vail Medical Office Building with a medical spa and The Children’s Place renovation and a partnership project with Truman Medical Center and the YMCA that includes 12 exam rooms with a holistic approach to health and wellness.

Current non-healthcare projects in Kansas City include Lightwell, American Century Investments, Waddell & Reed and Kiewit.

Current HOK projects in St. Louis include a new MLS Soccer Stadium, continued projects within the Cortex Innovation Community and Boeing NeXt’s space.

Over the next five years HOK sees the healthcare market continuing to evolve and grow and plans to enter and grow their presence in the Science + Technology market, which includes higher education buildings and labs.

"We're looking forward to designing with health and wellness in mind on all projects, continuing to work with local healthcare clients and expanding into emerging markets where we can best serve our clients," Nybo said.

They also plan to expand their existing sustainability studio as one of the firm’s three hubs globally for sustainable design. 

"We are going to continue our focus on creating healthy buildings for healthy bodies,'" DeVoder said.