The design of the new Indian Creek Library responds to the client’s goals of increased flexibility, community engagement, and connection to nature. The former building — crowded and constrained — suffered flood damage and the City of Olathe elected to purchase a vacant grocery store as their new facility. The design team transformed the introverted big-box store by peeling away the entire west façade, strategically inserting skylights and windows, and integrating indoor/outdoor courtyards. The front quarter of the library is now composed of flexible community spaces and meeting rooms, with the café serving as an anchor. A portion of the existing parking lot is being converted into a new city park.

“The opening of Indian Creek Library represents the latest in public library design and services, all enhanced by the gorgeous sunshade, dramatic ceilings, and generous daylight,” said Emily Baker, Director of Olathe Public Library. “It’s a beautiful place where our community can gather, make, read — or, just be.”

The entrance features an expansive glass curtainwall protected by a prominent sunshade. Inspired by the adjacent Indian Creek Trail, the sunshade features more than 700 custom-folded, aluminum and stainless steel panels — some with integrated lighting. The panels mimic nature's reflection of light and visually connect the building with the popular, neighboring trail.⁠

"We wanted to replicate the reflection and movement of this beautiful place along the Indian Creek Trail,” said Sean Zaudke, Associate Principal at Gould Evans. “I look at the sunshade and see rustling cottonwoods. Others see light flickering on water, stars shimmering at night, or pages turning in a book. The library is a place of gathering and interpretation, where visitors can spend time building their own narrative.”

The materiality consists of a simple palette: metal, wood, and glass. The sunshade’s metal panels continue into the interior, where they are introverted in form and installed as a patterned ceiling. Service areas are signified by reclaimed-elm cladding, chosen for visual warmth and its strong ties to the history of Olathe. (A once-prominent grove served as a stop on the westbound Sante Fe trail.) A series of skylight beacons guide visitors through the library by designating key service points: the main entry, café, adult reading area, and meeting spaces. Glass puts the library’s interior services on display and also provides transparency between community meeting spaces.

The building features a series of exterior courtyards with outdoor amenities tied to their interior adjacencies — an amphitheater, fireplace, and outdoor dining patio. The reworked west parking lot subverts vehicles to celebrate the pedestrian. Large plantings create a generous entry plaza; allées connect parking to the building and remove entrance-adjacent traffic.

The full program includes:

• The Commons welcomes visitors from the lobby and provides space for meeting friends, reading, and relaxing while enjoying the library café.
• The Lab provides a makerspace with the newest in 3D printers, laser and vinyl cutters, and a large-format printer.
• The Event Space features a large meeting room for use by organizations, individuals, and public programming.
• The Marketplace offers customer services such as checkout and information, the latest in books and AV to take home, public computers, and materials return via an automated system that gets everyone’s attention.
• The Stacks provide browsing and reading space for adults, teens, and children, including flex spaces such as the interior and exterior courtyards.
• The Children’s Program Room and Garden create spaces for younger kids, including a colorful, custom bubble wall.

• The Zone and Teen Space are dedicated to gaming, teen activities, and events. All services are placed on a raised-access floor to accommodate technology and infrastructure changes as the library evolves over time.

The project is a collaboration between Gould Evans, the City of Olathe, Group 4, and McCownGordon Construction.

A grand opening celebration for the Indian Creek Library will be held on October 19, 2019, 9:45 a.m to 5:00 p.m.

 

Contact
Jessica Kleoppel
816.263.2636
jessica.kleoppel@gouldevans.com

High-resolution renderings and photos are available for download here.

Gould Evans Gould Evans believes that design enriches life and elevates the human spirit. We continue to rigorously reimagine our practice focusing our work on people and place, innovations and outcomes. We strive to exceed client expectations, integrate symbiotically with the earth and the environment, and promote discovery and diversity. Learn more at gouldevans.com.

City of Olathe Olathe, “the city beautiful,” is one of the fastest-growing cities in the Midwest. Olathe is located just 20 miles southwest of downtown Kansas City, offering a lifestyle of exceptional quality. A drive through Olathe's attractive neighborhoods shows a well-planned, pleasing community. Olathe's fire and police departments are among the finest in the country. The award-winning Olathe Public Schools is one of the best in the nation. Olathe has been named a “best place to live” by Money Magazine and was recognized as a Fast City by Fast Company. Learn more at olatheks.org.

# # #

The new 76,700 square foot building in downtown Columbia, MO, provides a home commensurate with SHSMO’s identity as the premier research center for the study of Missouri state and local history, housing the largest collection of work by renowned Missouri artists George Caleb Bingham and Thomas Hart Benton. It provides nearly 49,000 more square feet of space than SHSMO’s previous home in the University of Missouri’s Ellis Library, enabling a substantial expansion of the organization’s research and exhibit space, and a significant increase in its public programming.

The iconic new building, sited on a prominent corner of the city across from Peace Park on the University of Missouri campus, creates a dramatic street presence for SHSMO and helps it fulfill its mission to collect, preserve, and disseminate Missouri’s history and heritage to the public.

“We wanted a building that was more than a place to house historical records. We wanted a space that inspired those who entered it to be reflective about the meaning of Missouri and to be appreciative and even proud of our rich collective heritage. We wanted the building to be a work of art in itself. Gould Evans has given us all these things in the Center for Missouri Studies. We are extremely pleased,” said Gary Kremer, Executive Director of the State Historical Society of Missouri.

The building’s distinctive rippling form is an outgrowth of its function, program, and symbolic meaning. The design embodies the concept of confluence: the meeting of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, which is integral to the founding of both the state of Missouri and the nation.

This concept is evident at a variety of scales:

• Placement in Community: The building is sited at the threshold between the University of Missouri and downtown Columbia: acting as a connector between the two and a means of providing communication between the scholastic and civic;
• Building Organization: The building’s soaring, light-filled atrium acts as a connector to the Society’s primary programs: the Research Center, art gallery, auditorium, and archives. A dramatic wood-paneled central stair – inspired by the flowing landscapes in Thomas Hart Benton’s paintings – invites movement upwards to the collection and reading room.
• Building Form: The building is arranged as a series of programmatic ripples: visible as individual towers from the exterior that each house unique functions. On the interior, these ripples create individual classrooms, office areas, and the Research Center. The high degree of transparency between these vertical layers of program enables users to navigate clearly through the building’s main spaces.

“During the design process, we were fascinated by the way history provides a context for understanding the present,” said Sean Zaudke, Associate Principal at Gould Evans. “We tried to create places of public gathering and interchange that provide an experience of Missouri history, that help bring it to life and invite further exploration.”

The new building provides a host of community gathering spaces, including:

• An expandable, multipurpose auditorium that seats up to 250 people;
• An enhanced Research Center that houses historical documents and supports genealogy research by offering greater access to documents, microfilm rolls, maps, and rare books;
• A suite of flexible classrooms and meeting spaces to house learning sessions, gatherings, films, etc.;
• An art gallery that more than doubles the organization’s exhibit space. The adjacency of the art gallery to the classroom spaces enables new thematic pairings of lectures and exhibits.

The building’s primary materials are sourced from Missouri, including the exterior limestone quarried in Ste. Genevieve, MO, and the white oak used throughout the interior woodwork.

A public grand opening and building dedication ceremony for the Center for Missouri Studies was held on Saturday, August 10.

 

Contact
Jessica Kleoppel
816.263.2636
jessica.kleoppel@gouldevans.com

High-resolution renderings and photos are available for download here.

Gould Evans
Gould Evans’ award-winning designs are recognized for their specificity to people and place. Our diverse portfolio of architecture stems from a design process that starts with the client’s goals. We share a passion for regional architecture and design that positively impacts our communities. Learn more at gouldevans.com.

###

The design of Patterson Health Center responds to the county’s need for a new, cost-effective and resilient model of rural healthcare that promotes a community of wellness. Despite being deemed crucial to a community’s health and financial success, 20% of existing rural American hospitals have been identified as at-risk of closure due to the economic stresses of population decline, outdated facilities, and shrinking healthcare reimbursements. In response to these challenges, the design team led stakeholders through a hands-on, interactive virtual reality process to co-create a space that embodies efficiency, flexibility, and healing.

“This building saves our rural community from potentially losing a hospital or two. The unique merging of two critical access hospitals into one efficient, well-organized, patient-centered facility could become a national model. It provides resiliency against the constantly shrinking resources we’re seeing nationwide,” said Pat Patton, CEO, Patterson Health Center.

The project is significantly funded and inspired by the Patterson Family Foundation, created by the late Neal Patterson, a Harper County native and co-founder and former CEO of Cerner.

“The last conversation I had with Neal was coincidentally about this project,” said Anthony Rohr, National Managing Principal, Gould Evans. “Neal often compared farmers with entrepreneurs. He believed design and technology were not at odds with rural values, but instead had a shared ability to strengthen the agrarian principles of planning, adaptability, and hard work. Patterson Health Center strives to embody and support its community and place.”

The hospital design is inspired by the joining of two communities, Harper and Anthony, KS. It is deliberately sited between the towns and adjacent to their shared Chaparral High School. The distinctive roof form, resembling a heartbeat, opens on its north and south ends to reach out to each community and create a new identity for their merged facility. The material choice of reflective, standing seam metal roofing references contextual agrarian structures and its lightness conveys a tranquil wellness space. The darker metal panel façade emphasizes voids of light and transparency that highlight the care happening within. Entrances are marked with native western red cedar, which wraps into the main entrance and guides guests into a vaulted lobby that connects with the light-filled main circulatory path. Full swaths of vertical glass in perimeter spaces and every inpatient suite connect visitors to the earth and sky. Furthermore, clearstory and skylights provide additional daylight to spaces typically buried within hospitals, including main circulation paths, nurse stations, staff areas, and lab spaces.

The center provides access to education, prevention, and long-term wellness by combining a health clinic with various spaces traditionally associated with a community center — an indoor/outdoor café and a large greenspace for health fairs, farmers’ markets, and fitness events. The adjacent high school will soon offer a health-centered curriculum with introductory heathcare job training programs, sports medicine classes, and wellness programs to improve teenage health.

“It is intentionally called a health center, not a hospital,” said Martha Hadsall, Board Chair, Patterson Health Center. “The building offers tons of natural light, beautiful views of the prairie, and access to new and expanded services — truly a place for our communities to gather and lead the transformation of rural healthcare.”

Operational innovations of the new facility include:

• An inpatient care unit with 10 large, private bedrooms where a family member can stay overnight. The remaining three semi-private rooms will be licensed as patient beds for peaks in census and will also be used for multiple procedures, such as outpatient infusions and same-day surgery prep/recovery beds. The nurse stations for the inpatient unit and the four-room ED are interconnected to efficiently operate the two services and allow staff to easily flow between the two services.
• A 22-exam-room clinic connected to the critical access hospital, which features an Integrated Care Team clinic delivery model to provide the greatest flexibility in response to the changing healthcare landscape. This model brings patient rooms, staff working areas, and service provider offices together in one place. It creates a centralized, “off-stage” space that allows staff to collaborate and move efficiently, ultimately enhancing care coordination and the patient experience.
• An 18-equipment-station outpatient rehabilitation gym with several private treatment rooms and an in-ground hydrotherapy pool will provide physical, occupational, and cardiopulmonary therapies for outpatients. A separate fitness center is available for staff members.
• A new cafe offering locally grown produce and healthy menu options offers indoor and outdoor dining options. It hopes to serve not only patients, staff, and visitors to the health center, but also provide another dining opportunity to the public.

The health center is rich in new healthcare technologies to improve workflow and efficiency, including electronic outpatient registration, digital patient tracking, telemedicine capabilities for clinic and trauma patients, automated medication dispensing units, and contemporary surgical and diagnostic imaging equipment.

Future campus plans include a fitness center, community center, community gardens, and a trail system. The project is a collaboration between Gould Evans, Kahler Slater, McCownGordon Construction, Grand Construction, and Hospital Districts #5 and 6 of Harper County, Kansas.

A grand opening ceremony for the Patterson Health Center will be held on July 19, 2019, at 1:00 p.m.

Contact
Liz Thelen-Torres
Business Development Director
415.503.1411 x1130
liz.thelen-torres@gouldevans.com

High-resolution renderings and photos are available for download here.

Gould Evans
Gould Evans’ award-winning designs are recognized for their specificity to people and place. Our diverse portfolio of architecture stems from a design process that starts with the client’s goals. We share a passion for regional architecture and design that positively impacts our communities. Learn more at gouldevans.com.

Kahler Slater
Through architecture, interior design, environmental branding and strategic advisory services, Kahler Slater’s work enriches life and achieves powerful results. Kahler Slater utilizes design solutions as catalysts for helping their clients reach their strategic goals for advancing their organizations. Their team includes marketplace experts in healthcare, higher education, corporate, living environments, hospitality, sports, and wellness. Learn more at kahlerslater.com.

###

The 22,000 sq. ft. building, constructed in 1925 in the “Late 19th Century and Early 20th Century Revival Period”, operated as Plaza Laundry until 1945. Over the years, the space has continued to operate as a commercial building, retaining its original exterior and connection to the broader historical context of Westport.

“Westport has become a strategic asset for us, both as a recruiting tool for new talent and an amenity for our clients,” said Dennis Strait, Managing Principal of the Gould Evans Kansas City Studio. “The narrow streets, small blocks and diverse mix of shops, restaurants and services make it the model for walkable living in Kansas City.”

Challenged with creating a space that will facilitate the firm’s vision and evolution into a progressive design practice, Gould Evans plans to adapt the historic building into a modern workplace that will act as an incubator for a design thinking. The space will create an environment that fosters creativity and enables the entrepreneurial spirit that has always existed within the firm, to allow new ideas, opportunities and business ventures to come to the forefront.

The two-story, flexible studio will cater to a broader range of working styles, taking advantage of the original structure’s unique bones to provide a variety of intelligent and dynamic zones. The renovation will dedicate more square footage to collaboration areas than traditional desk space and will feature:

• A dedicated makerspace featuring digital and physical modeling tools alongside assembly space for mockups

• A social zone for casual gathering that transitions to town hall gathering space for associates and local community

• Loft in the trusses with quiet nooks for introverts and heads down space

• Natural lighting from all four directions so everyone has access to daylight and views

• Height adjustable work environments customizable to the individual

• An outdoor patio along the trolley tracks for gatherings, outdoor work space and entertainment

In addition, the firm will continue to house the STEAM Studio, a nonprofit organization that works with K-12 students to develop skills in entrepreneurialism and design thinking, using STEM education as the foundation. The Studio, which began as an entrepreneurial venture of a Gould Evans principal in 2015, has served as an active learning environment within the firm, yielding research and insights into education design.

“Businesses and Biology both have life cycles that hit peaks and require fresh investment to have resiliency and avoid decline. We believe we are designing a design firm and this new environment is a perfect metaphor for our practice,” said Tony Rohr, Gould Evans National Managing Principal. “We aren’t forgetting the core of what we’ve been for over 40 years, but in many ways, this is a new beginning, or at least a new chapter. The insertion of new life into a historic frame is similar to inserting a new design culture into a traditional structure. It’s dynamic – not static.”

The new office will offer a more dynamic environment that is conducive to hosting firm-wide meetings, events and community gatherings. Gould Evans is expected to move into the building in early 2019.

Hi-res renderings and design team interviews available upon request. Please contact Megan Krtek at 816-701-5422 or megan.krtek@gouldevans.com.

About Gould Evans
Gould Evans’ award-winning designs are recognized for their specificity to people and place. Our diverse portfolio of architecture stems from a design process that starts with the client’s goals. We share a passion for regional architecture and design that positively impacts our communities. To learn more, visit www.gouldevans.com.

###