Hybrid Retail Tower
Kansas City
Kansas City
The concept developed in the first phase was to suspend a box store between residential and office towers to foster a public space at the ground level of the block rather than fill it with private business. When this idea was applied to the context of a blighted area of Kansas City, the strategy proved to have other benefits.
The nearly abandoned industrial sector to the southeast of downtown KC is inhibited partially by a considerable grade change and rail line. These obstacles create a pocket or dead end that people easily pass by without noticing. The potential for suspending a retail store between buildings is that the store could then serve as a bridge, allowing pedestrians access from the higher hillside near the hospital, to the downtown by way of the store.
The nearly abandoned industrial sector to the southeast of downtown KC is inhibited partially by a considerable grade change and rail line. These obstacles create a pocket or dead end that people easily pass by without noticing. The potential for suspending a retail store between buildings is that the store could then serve as a bridge, allowing pedestrians access from the higher hillside near the hospital, to the downtown by way of the store.
