With a thriving ecosystem of 1,000 architecture and engineering firms, ranging from small boutique studios to large corporations, the Kansas City region has solidified its position as a powerhouse in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. Boasting a staggering $24 billion industry, the region employs 70,000 professionals, placing it among the top ten concentrations of architecture and engineering jobs in the nation.
More than 60 local design community firms and leaders have joined together in a collective known as KC Global Design to promote and celebrate the global impact of Kansas City’s design and construction community.
Robin Broder Gibson, chair of the board and chief marketing officer for Henderson Engineers, and Ashley McDonald, managing director of Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC), discussed KC Global Design, its origins, and its initiatives at a recent luncheon hosted by the KC Downtowners.
In 2015, The Civic Council of Greater Kansas City implemented KC Rising, an initiative to identify those trade sectors in the region that Kansas City could own and in which investment should be made to help them grow.
“Architecture and engineering rose to the top because we have several huge local firms here in town. . . so it seemed like a natural place to start. Then it expanded to construction. So we’re really talking about designing the built environment,” said Gibson.
The initial co-chairs of KC Global Design, Tim Triplett, board secretary and general counsel with Black & Veatch; David Bower, principal with Marc Taylor Inc. (formerly with Populus); and Rich Smith, president emeritus of Henderson Engineers, began meeting with other local firms to discuss coming together as a collective.
According to Gibson, they were trying to raise awareness of Kansas City as a global hub of design firms in order to attract more people who want to build their careers here.
“That’s the one thing they could all align on,” she said.
Member firms started to join the initiative in 2016. Last year, KCADC added KC Global Design under its umbrella and hired McDonald to lead it.
“As you can imagine over the last eight years or so, we could only make so much traction. So we were ecstatic when we started gaining momentum and people started to listen to what KC Global Design is doing with volunteers from all of our firms, and KCADC stepped up and said what would you think about us coming in and helping out . . . I don’t think there was one person that said that is a bad idea,” said Gibson.
Prior to becoming part of KCADC, KC Global Design focused on three pillars. The first was attracting talent to the region. The member firms started doing recruiting fairs together at Kansas State University and other area colleges, encouraging students to look at Kansas City for employment opportunities, rather than Chicago.
The second pillar involved raising awareness of the architecture, engineering and construction industry based in Kansas City.
The third pillar was Innovation. According to Gibson, KC Global Design wanted to demonstrate how if all the firms came together in a very collaborative nature, they could solve some of the industry’s largest problems or challenges.
During the height of the pandemic, the collective launched a nationwide series of webinars discussing how to make buildings and environments safer.
“And we had tons of people now listening to experts in Kansas City,” Gibson said.
KCADC added the fourth pillar—Community.
“When I say community, that is being intentional about bringing the nonprofit sector or other organizations that can really help us make an impact when it comes to the goals of KC Global Design,” said McDonald.
Nearly one-half of global sports architecture originates in Kansas City.
“When you hear about the design world in Kansas City, you think about stadiums . . .We have firms like Populus who have really set the gold standard when it comes to the Olympics. They’ve designed several winter and summer Olympic stadiums over the past 25 years. Also, the last 18 out of 26 NFL stadiums have been designed by a firm in Kansas City,” McDonald said.
McDonald said Kansas City also is a pioneer when it comes to the green movement and making sure every aspect of a project considers sustainability.
McDonald shared a video made contemporaneously with the recent NFL Draft focused on drafting talent to the architecture, engineering and construction industry in Kansas City. The successful campaign targeted potential employees out of market who are zero to five years out of school, with the goal of showing the depth of the industry and the uniqueness that exists here.
“Collaboration is the theme of everything that’s been shared today. . . being part of something bigger,” said McDonald.
At the conclusion of the presentation, Jason Osborne, national director of business development for Rosemann & Associates, ceded the presidency of the KC Downtowners to Sydney Goldberg, director of business development for Goldberg Group Architects, who assumes the position for the 2023-2024 term.
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FEATURE PHOTO: Robin Broder Gibson, chair of the board and chief marketing officer for Henderson Engineers, and Ashley McDonald, managing director of Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC), discussed KC Global Design, its origins and its initiatives at a recent luncheon hosted by the KC Downtowners. Photo credit: Marcia Charney | MWM KC