University of Missouri—Kansas City, Health Sciences Bldg, Schools of Pharmacy and Nursing

Kansas City, Missouri

Firm

Kallmann McKinnell & Wood Architects

Client

University of Missouri--Kansas City

Area

206,585 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$33,000,000

Completion Date

09/2007

The building provides 206,585 square feet of instructional, teaching and research laboratories; administrative, faculty, student and support spaces for the School of Pharmacy and the School of Nursing; and shared support facilities for the Hospital Hill Campus. The formerly disparate components of the schools of nursing and pharmacy were combined in this new facility, addressing current and anticipated future space needs, and creating an interactive interdisciplinary Health Sciences Community.
The project on Hospital Hill joins the adjacent School of Medicine and School of Dentistry, per the 2002 campus master plan. In this context, creating two green spaces, in what previously had been a parking lot, was critical to establishing a “sense of place.”
Laboratories reflect modular design principles developed from benchmark criteria for academic research workstations, aisles and equipment dimensions. Modular planning provides flexibility for future research accommodations, requirements and technological advances. In addition to “wet” labs, the project provides simulated hospital environments with computerized animatronic patients; large and small classrooms; a student lounge, cafe and locker facilities; and a small library. A large vivarium is situated under the front courtyard.