KEM STUDIO believes better design equals better living

Q&A with KEM STUDIO’s Jonathon Kemnitzer

MWM: Tell us how your partnership began?  How did you meet and what brought you together to form KEM STUDIO?

JK: My son just went through college orientation at the University of Kansas and it made me nostalgic about my orientation at the same university 30 years ago. At my orientation, I met Nicole Satterwhite (now a principal of Willoughby Design and KEM co-founder, Brad Satterwhite’s wife). Nicole and I became good friends going through the design program together (Nicole studying graphic design and I was studying industrial design) and when she met Brad (an architecture student), he and I discovered that we shared a mutual respect for each other's disciplines and a common appreciation for thoughtfully good design.

MWM: Can you expand on your unique discipline of fusing architecture and industrial design? Where did this concept originate and why do you think it gives you an edge in your industry?

JK: We do believe it gives us an edge. Because we have diverse talents and areas of expertise, it allows us to bring a unique perspective to every project.

At KEM STUDIO, we believe there are three scales of things we all interact with in life... the things that we manipulate (example - phone), the things that we're equal with (example - furniture), and the things that manipulate us (buildings). By fusing architecture and industrial design, we uniquely understand these three scales in ways that can enhance people's lives – from the spaces they are in, to the technology they hold in their hands. Firms that don't have that fusion of disciplines tend to fall short because they don't have that understanding of how a person interacts with something differently at a scale of mm to a scale of feet. 

MWM: How has your firm evolved since 2004 when you first started?

JK: For us, designing and running the business is something that is always evolving. When we started KEM STUDIO, our strength was being good designers and over the last seventeen and a half years we've evolved into better business owners. It's become a balance between doing the thing we love with the parts that we've learned to love.

MWM:  How do you keep yourselves and your team inspired?

JK: We are always trying to humbly improve as both people and designers. It starts by creating a team at KEM STUDIO so that we are all surrounded by talented people that we enjoy being around and can learn from. We also have a simple mantra “today is better than yesterday.”

We are active in our local design community, including AIA KC, and take part in school and university programs as mentors and ambassadors for the profession.

Another source of inspiration is our office, which is designed to foster collaboration, inspiration, and excitement and is a blend of a living laboratory, showcase and art gallery. It’s a place where we can test spaces and furniture concepts on ourselves before implementing them in projects.

MWM: You recently acquired the Stockyards Building and moved your new office into the building as well.  Are you enjoying it? 

JK: We love the history and the trajectory of the Stockyards District. We feel like it represents KEM STUDIO very well and we hope to continue the stewardship that Bill Haw established and continues to have in the area. We’ve been in this building (that we designed) for six years and are excited that we were able to invest in staying here.

MWM: Tell us about a few of your favorite projects to date and why they are your favorite?

Just a couple of weeks ago we completed a showroom for the NeoCon design conference in Chicago for one of our clients, Loftwall, that we're really excited about. We've been designing all of their new products for the last three years; so not only did we design the showroom, but we also designed all the products in the showroom. Similar to other projects like Charlie Hustle + Sporting KC and Upfit for Landscape Forms, it's just another example of how fusing architecture and industrial design creates solutions that are more approachable, livable and necessary in our lives... BETTER DESIGN, BETTER LIVING.

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Jonathon Kemnitzer, IDSA, is a co-founder and principal of KEM STUDIO. His close observation of everyday life and the way people interact with space and objects constantly informs his work. He is a collaborative designer who builds global brands through innovative solutions to make people's lives better through design. His work has been recognized in numerous national and international design competitions and publications.

Jonathon has an eclectic interest in music, film (he was once in a movie with Paul Newman) and the culinary world (he has a cocktail named after him). Additionally, he enjoys giving back to the community and is currently serving on the Product Design Professional Advisory Board for Kansas State University.

Residential options beefed up in Stockyards District

Ryan Cronk, vice president of development with Indianapolis-based Flaherty & Collins, joined moderator Frank Sciara, CCIM president of the Kansas City CCIM chapter and vice president of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, for a live CCIM-KC webinar last week to discuss Flaherty & Collins’ newest multifamily project in Kansas City.

Located in the Stockyards District, The Yards is a 232-unit multifamily project which saw its first tenant take occupancy in May.   

While Cronk was working on the Union Berkley Riverfront project, he attended an event at the Amigoni Urban Winery located in the Stockyards, a part of town he had never been before, and met developer Bill Haw who had renovated the Livestock Exchange Building which then had more than 110 tenants.

“When I heard that number, I was like wow, there’s 110 people that want to be in the Stockyards. That’s a big deal. That was very intriguing as a developer to see that,” said Cronk.

Despite the fact that the Stockyards then boasted several restaurants, bars and the winery, the Stockyards had only eleven residential units that Haw had recently completed. With a lot of people coming to the Stockyards to eat and drink, Cronk thought there might be a demand for apartments.

Beginning what Cronk called a “very smooth process,” Flaherty & Collins began development of The Yards on a vacant parking lot next to the Golden Ox.

Flaherty & Collins and the City of Kansas City, Missouri entered into an agreement which allowed Flaherty & Collins to use the West Bottoms Parking Garage, which had been under-utilized with the closure of Kemper Arena. Consequently, The Yards did not require any new parking construction.

KEM Studio, located in The Stockyards, was the architect. 

“Nobody had a better feel for what the design of this thing needed to be,” said Cronk.

The Yards incorporates historical aspects from the days when the district was a stockyards. Cronk said they found thousands of old bricks when they ripped up the parking lot to begin construction. Flaherty & Collins restored the bricks and used them both inside the property and in the exterior sidewalks. 

“That was a cool way to keep the fabric of the history of the stockyards in a modern project as well,” said Cronk.

The developer also engaged artist Kevin Townsend to create a large exterior mural in front of the property’s entrance.

The Yards boasts some unique amenities, including a vineyard planted in the middle of its courtyard by Amigoni Winery, who also maintains the vineyard. Cronk said he hopes to use the grapes to develop a house wine to give to new residents.

“It’s also an educational thing where our residents can learn the process of making wine, all the way from the start of growing the grapes to the finish, with Amigoni being across the street,” said Cronk.

Taking advantage of the property’s location near the Kansas River, The Yards also offers its residents the use of kayaks located in a kayak room inside the property.

Cronk said the biggest challenge he faced was obtaining financing which took two years. 

Cronk said the property currently is 43% leased and 34% occupied. Despite the pandemic, the project is actually ahead of budget in terms of occupancy because the developer has been very aggressive with upfront concessions to generate foot traffic. 

The Yards also has approximately 3000 SF of commercial space which is close to being under lease.

Pleased with the success of The Yards, Flaherty & Collins is pursuing approval for a Phase 2. Cronk explained that phase 2 will be a separate project, with a different look. The only bond with The Yards will be that both properties will share the parking garage.

Phase 2, which is planned to contain more than 200 units along with some commercial space, will be located in Kansas and will sit directly on the river. 

Cronk said his company is working with the Unified Government on the development planning, tax abatement and platting processes. He hopes to commence construction on phase 2 in the third quarter of 2021, if not sooner. 

“In Phase 2 we’re really trying to find a unique destination piece for a creative entrepreneur type that wants to do something - something that interacts with the river. Somebody that’s got a great idea and can do something a little bit unique in The Stockyards,” said Cronk.

Cronk said he hopes to continue to build more projects in The Stockyards. “What we saw in the area was a fabric that you can’t replicate anywhere else,” he said.