CONTENTS
01 URBAN PATTERNING: A NEIGHBORHOOD
CASE STUDY: BEACON HILL, KANSAS CITY, MO
02 URBAN PATTERNING: A HOME CASE STUDY: 2459 TRACY AVE, KANSAS CITY, MO
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BEACON HILL, KANSAS CITY, MO
Kansas City trajectory growth makes it the poster child for the “Suburban Experiment.”
The Rapid growth of KC started in the late 19th and early 20th century, which was made possible through the fusion of centuries-old European architectural place making traditions. With this, the rectilinear street grid became a unique American invention. The neighborhood of Beacon Hill is a development of Mid-Century Modern homes and town homes. In the early 2000’s the northwest corridor of Beacon Hill underwent a transformation with new renovated homes along Tracy and Forest Avenues and West Paseo Boulevard. Today, Beacon Hill has a renaissance; since 2011 more than 50 new homes have been built on once empty neighborhood ground.
URBAN
LEGEND
BEACON HILL PROPOSED = 2459 Case Study House
= Commons Plans
STREET SCAPE & SETBACKS
BEACON HILL REGULATIONS
The development of Beacon Hill, both in home development and street scape has unique neighborhood standards. Since 2011, more than 50 new homes have been built on a once empty neighborhood grounds. The construction of UMKC student housing at 25th and Troost, adjacent to Hospital Hill, added 126 graduate and medical student apartments to the area. This started the trajectory growth of dozens of multi occupational units throughout Beacon Hill. Revitalizing Beacon Hill revolved around private and public ownership, where it has been stated that “what’s happening at Beacon Hill is truly an example of a public-private partnership working seamlessly to transform and revitalize a neighborhood” (beaconhillkansascity. com). The residential homes follow similar street facade and landscape. The development of mid century modern homes in Kansas City with Donald Holland Drummond (a Kansas City based architect/engineer) is projected onto the new development of Mid-Century Modern homes in Beacon Hill.
TOWNHOUSE SETBACKS
LATERAL TOWNHOUSE SETBACKS SINGLE FAMILY
LEGEND
= Proposed Streets
= Proposed Lanes
= Vacated ROW
= Existing ROW
= Existing Street
= Private Street
= Storm Water Detention
STREET SCAPE & SETBACKS
BEACON HILL REGULATIONS
Within the parameters of Beacon Hill, in order to keep within the proposal of renovating the neighborhood, strict building codes are enforced in order to keep the neighborhood “feel” complimentary throughout. Beacon Hill offers over 300 new building sites for single-family houses, detached and duplex houses in addition to 100 completely renovated historic and traditional Kansas City residential homes. Lots are available for $37,500 and up, and town homes begin at $195,000. The entire neighborhood covers almost 90 acres with a panoramic view of downtown. Beacon Hill is a mixed-use, new-urbanist neighborhood within walking distance to most major monuments in Kansas City. It’s important to note the vicinity of Beacon Hill to urban downtown; a less than 5 minute drive to central downtown, the closeness to downtown brings back a dense urban patterning to the neighborhood. Overall, Beacon Hill is designed as a traditional Kansas City neighborhood with pedestrian orientation, rear lanes for garage access, open space, green spaces, and neighborhood amenities that include commercial lofts, retail spaces and community centers. Additionally, Robinson Hospital has been redeveloped for the aging population, having 45 elderly residents. Many award winning architecture firms are hired by potential clients to purchase a lot, design their Mid-Century Modern home, and keep with the progressiveness of Beacon Hill.
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Existing Zoning: URD
Proposed Zoning: URD
Total Land Area: 94 Acres
Existing Street Right of Way: 29.11 acre
27th Street Dedication: TBD
Proposed Street Right of Way: 11.16 acres
Net Land Area: 50.97 Acres
Proposed Uses: Residential, Senior Housing, Mixed Use
Building Height: Residential up to 45 feet
GFA Per Floor: Residential 625-4600 Per Floor
Required Parking: 1 Per Residential Unit
PHASING PLAN
Phase 1A: Infill development
Phase 2B: Demo/rehab of homes
Phase 2B: Demo of single family
Phase 3: Construction of new town homes
Phase 4: Construction of single family
Phase 5: Construction of commercial
Phase 6: Third party construction
PHASE 4
PHASE 5
PHASE 3
PHASE 1A
PHASE 1B
PHASE 6
PHASE 2A
PHASE 2B
MID CENTURY MODERN IN KANSAS CITY
KANSAS CITY
KC Suburbs are a significant portion of KC growing, where it shares a higher share of suburban population and employment than the 50 largest metros, in general, and the region, in particular. The ability to buy large single-family homes, enjoy convenient highway access, and to get access to better schools are among the reasons that people move to the suburbs. KC however, seems to be missing the “middle housing” development, which provides the diversity of homes for all ages, prices, culture and lifestyle. Building a suburb in Kansas City revolves around finding an urban area. To overview Beacon Hill, it has been focused to be a new neighborhood in the urban culture of Kansas City. 300 lots were sold to the neighborhood for residential use in the beginning stages of the redevelopment of Beacon Hill. Beacon Hill fits the definition of a suburb “ which is a mixed-use or residential area, existing either as part of a city or urban area as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city.”
MID-CENTURY MODERN HOMES
The Mid-Century Modern movement was popular from 1945-1969. Overall, mid century modern homes are characterized by clean, simple lines and an honest use of materials. The greatest emphasis on mid century modern homes is their lack of decorative embellishments. This was revolutionary in architecture. Through history, the progression of residential design has been seen as displaying wealth through elaborate architecture. However, Mid-Century Modern design focuses on logic and space planning - where, for residential architecture, it makes the most sense to create the most functioning home for a family without “fluff.” The Mid-Century Modern movement in the United States was an American reflection of the International and Bauhaus movements. This includes architects like Ludwig Mies van Der Rohe, Walter Gropius, and Le Corbusier. These architects were pioneers in popularizing Mid-Century Modern design and moving the focus of residential architecture to function over form. .
DONALD DRUMMOND
Donald Holland Drummond was an architect based in KC, Missouri, where he pioneered modern residential architecture in KC. He built as many as 1,100 homes in the conservative KC market. Drummond’s first self-designed homes were not overly contemporary, rather they were just boxes that held logic and not beauty. The adjacency of spaces, clean design and development of logic in programming became the basis of Drummond homes. With this, the development of Mid-Century Modern aesthetic began with the idea of simplicity. I believe this is the true definition of architecture. Architecture is problem solving, and with Mid-Century Modern design revolving around logic, it seems to be a very successful design. Drummond coined the term “flatties” which describes flat roofs, and is a great illustration of how Mid-Century Modern homes are designed. Eichler Homes are much popular Mid-Century Modern homes, where Drummond homes don’t hold as high of status, but the Eichler homes are the epitome of mid century modern homes.
TRANSITIONAL LIVING; BRINGING THE OUTDOORS IN
Mid-Century Modern design focuses a lot on post and beam architectural design to eliminate bulky support. However, the integrity to “bring the outdoor in” is a prime definition of Mid-Century Modern homes. Illustrating Mid-Century Modern homes as an idea of indoor and outdoor living, scattered the homes into warmer areas in the US. It wasn’t until the advancement of technology and the ability to “live” outside more comfortably (with porch enclosures, screens etc.) Then Mid-Century Modern homes began to trickle to colder states. Having homes fit the environment rather than taking over the environment it was revolutionary. Mid Century Modern style emphasizes that form or beauty should be second in importance to form. In this sense, professionals more easily focus on complex inner lives and ideas rather than complexity in their surroundings. In the United States, Joseph Eichler was instrumental in bringing MidCentury Modern architecture (Eichler homes) to the subdivisions in LA
4 URBAN
1 2 3
MID CENTURY MODERN IN BEACON HILL
ARCHITECTURE OF IDEAS
Mid-Century Modern is the architecture of ideas, created by those who believe in forward thinking. Mid-Century Modern is the architecture of ideas. The birth of Mid-Century Modern homes was after the WWII war. The houses had open floor plans and giant sliding-glass doors, which encouraged people to just go outside and be healthy. Frank Lloyd Wright, who trained Mid-Century Modern architects was also a huge influence in the movement of Mid-Century Modern homes. The key elements include flat planes, large windows, changes in elevation, and integration with nature. The geometric lines of the house are regular and rigorous. Flat roofs are common, though modern ranch-style houses had gable roofs. Small steps going up and down between rooms creates split-level spaces. A Mid-Century Modern might have partial walls, or cabinets of varying heights to create different depths in the space. Rooms have multiple outdoor views, or multiple access points, encouraging an appreciation of healthy living.
Within the Mid-Century Modern architectural style is the unique house form known as split-level. It’s usually designed very similar to a contemporary style house or ranch but in the split-level configuration. Low-pitched hip roofs are the most common for Mid-Century Modern homes. Roof overhangs are also substantial with exposed rafters on more expensively designed homes. A welcoming and practical feature of these houses is the recessed and protected front entry. The simplest front entries are beneath the main roof. Mid-Century Modern homes are popular today because of their functionality and honest use of materials. If you type in Mid-Century Modern to any magazine or house catalogue, you will notice they use every buzz word. Having a MidCentury Modern space both on the exterior and interior of the home is also important, carrying the exterior qualities of the outside to the inside is one of the most prolific qualities of Mid-Century Modern design.
OVERVIEW
As a newly developing neighborhood, Beacon Hill is logically spaced out and creates a unique flow throughout the entire suburb. The flow of Mid-Century Modern homes makes it unique to the rest of Kansas City suburbs. Many single families and new families are moving to the suburb that is within close proximity to downtown. The suburb has green spaces and courtyards to encourage community gathering, as well as many commercial amenities that are new to Beacon Hill.
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2459 TRACY AVE, KANSAS CITY, MO
2459 Tracy Ave is a progressive new build project in the heart of Beacon Hill. Studio Build, Kansas City, was tasked with designing a 2-story, 3-bedroom house for a family of 4. The Mid-Century Modern home will mirror the same exterior facade as the existing single family homes in Beacon Hill. Above all, the design will revolve around bringing the outside in, focusing centrally on the courtyard area in the middle of the lot with a pool. The program on the main floor will revolve around the center, always leading to viewpoints to the pool. The facade will stay simple, and allow the lines to flow throughout the space leading the viewer’s eyes up and then into the home.
BEACON HILL PROPERTY LINE MAP
SITE LOCATION
2459 TRACY AVE, KANSAS CITY, MO
The site sits off the Beacon Hill commons in an open lot next to two other open lots to the north. The site slopes from west to east, leaving the back alley as the highest point on the site.
SITE STATISTICS
POPULATION: 5,231 PEOPLE
LOT INFORMATION: 0.179 ACRES SQUARE FOOTAGE: 7,809 SF PARK DISTRICT: CENTRAL
MAINTENANCE DISTRICT: D2
LOWER LEVEL
1/16 IN. = 1 FT.
LIVING ROOM 1
BEDROOM 2
BEDROOM 3
BATHROOM 4
GAME ROOM 5
STORAGE/MECHANICAL 6
PATIO LOOKING NORTH
KITCHEN LOOKING NORTH
FACADE ITERATION 1
WINDOWS
The first case study focused on window placement on the front facade. Separating the spaces more on the interior would sprout the need for more windows on the exterior in order to let more light into the rooms. Focusing on budget, however, the design was soon scrapped due to the large amount of needed glass for the design.
FACADE ITERATION 3
SIMPLE DESIGN
The third study in designing the front facade of the single family home revolved around stacking the first and second floor balcony perfectly on top of each other. Mirroring the roof in the same fashion was also a driver on the design, focusing on clean lines, flat roof and evenly spaced columns/structural system.
FACADE ITERATION 2
GABLE ROOF
The second case study focused on a more traditional approach to residential design. The roof would be split by a structural column and have a double sloped roof. This makes it the most appealing to traditional design from the front facade, but doesn’t mirror the qualities of Mid-Century Modern design enough to fit the mark.
FACADE ITERATION 4
NORTH SLOPED ROOF
The fourth study revolved around a perpendicular sloped roof. The design would emphasize creating the interior spaces to lead upward. Having the lower sloped roof closer to the street, and having the higher sloped portion of the roof to the private side yard. This will allow for a grander feel in the interior of the house.
FINAL DESIGN WEST SLOPED ROOF
The final design focused on the most successful use of space and form that matched the existing curb appeal throughout Beacon Hill. The final design allowed for the most successful use of windows from both a visual and financial standpoint. The roof slopes upward, opposite of the site slope that brings a unique design element to the final design.
THANK YOU
LAUREN BROWN // RESEARCH PETITION ADVISOR STUDIO BUILD // 2459 RESIDENCE, PROFESSIONAL PROJECT
847.850.9660
savannahkruse22@gmail.com www.linkedin.com/in/savannah-kruse
issuu.com/savannahkruse
