Missouri’s historic Swope Park, donated by Col. Thomas Swope in 1896, is one of Kansas City’s first and largest parks. Home to the Kansas City Zoo, Starlight Theatre, Swope Memorial Golf Course, Blue River Golf Course, Lakeside Nature Center, 10 shelter houses and numerous picnic areas and athletic fields, the park is  a fun and educational family destination. It is also now the home of the new green Southeast Community Center.

When the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department hired KAI Design & Build, of St. Louis, Mo, to design the new environmentally friendly community center, the firm’s architects and engineers were challenged to create a facility that would withstand the rigors of daily physical activity, reduce energy consumption and preserve a historic landscape--all while educating the facility’s patrons on the benefits of energy conservation.    

The Southeast Community Center (SECC) offers visitors of all ages an inviting atmosphere where they can meet and visit. Incorporating a fireplace into the lounge design helped to create that inviting and cozy feeling. Photo courtesy of Peter Wilson

Innovative by Design  

KAI Design & Build’s architects and engineers gave particular attention to the Southeast Community Center’s energy-efficient HVAC system, which is one of the most advanced systems on the market. KAI provided all of the architectural, mechanical and electrical design elements on the project, so work from all three disciplines was integrated throughout the facility’s entire design and build process.  

The facility utilizes a ground source heat pump. In the summer, the heat from the building is transferred into the earth through a continuous loop of piping located under the building’s parking lot, which in turn helps cool the building. In the winter, the cycle is reversed and the heat is extracted from the earth, which is then used to heat the building.  

This innovative system takes advantage of the earth’s relatively consistent temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit just below the surface. By utilizing this system, the earth’s temperature only needs to increase or decrease a few degrees in order to heat or cool the building. This allows the facility to use smaller, more-efficient heating and cooling equipment that would normally not be sufficient for a building of its size. 

SECC staff greet visitors at the facility's entrance. All of the countertops in the center are made of recycled materials and the cabinets are made from FSC-certified wood with no formaldehyde. Photo courtesy of Peter Wilson

KAI estimates that the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department, which owns and operates the facility, will see a 20 percent decrease in energy costs by utilizing the heat pump system, as compared to a conventional HVAC system.  

Engineers on the project also helped the city save more than $75,000 on the project by utilizing a stormwater runoff recycling system rather than costly underground sewer piping. With the system, stormwater runoff from the roof and parking lots is channeled through a series of biofilters and eventually into a small rain garden where it is detained and allowed to recharge the local aquifer. This upper rain garden spills over into a bioswale with rock check dams, which continue to filter and slow the stormwater. The bioswales are marked for educational purposes to help the public understand this relatively new concept.  

Rain gardens provide an attractive landscape that can turn ordinary drainage and erosion control into a place of beauty and a benefit to local wildlife. The Southeast Community Center features one of Kansas City’s largest rain gardens; a second rain garden contains a “deep” level of native plants that can tolerate wet and dry conditions. Native plantings were also used throughout much of the rest of the site to meet low watering requirements. Minimal site disturbance was made during construction, and most of the surrounding old oak trees were preserved. Grading was limited to preserve these trees and as much of the site area as possible. 

The new facility is significantly larger than the previous one and can now serve a larger population of the community. Rooms were designed to accommodate activities for all age groups from toddlers to seniors. Photo courtesy of Peter Wilson

To reduce the amount of energy needed to illuminate the large facility, daylighting was used in a number of spaces and ENERGY STAR-compliant light fixtures were specified. Motion-sensor lighting, which turns lights on when someone enters the room and turns them off when the person exits, were also used throughout the facility. Other lighting in the facility can only be turned on and off by staff using a key.   

To reduce the amount of energy needed to illuminate the large facility, day lighting was used in a number of spaces, including the facility's gymnasium, and ENERGY STAR-compliant light fixtures were also specified. Photo courtesy of Peter Wilson

Products of Nature  

As part of the LEED Silver qualifications, many recycled and environmentally friendly products and materials were used throughout. A majority of those products were manufactured locally or regionally in order to reduce the amount of energy needed to transport those products to the jobsite. Additionally, the contractor was responsible for separating a minimum of 50 percent of the waste generated during construction so that it could be recycled and not disposed of in the local landfill.   

With a facility of its size, specifying environmentally friendly materials that would be used in large quantities throughout the building contributed greatly toward obtaining its green status. Countertops, carpeting and toilet partitions were made from recycled materials; rubber flooring was made from a renewable/recyclable resource; and wood doors and cabinets were made from FSC-certified wood with no formaldehyde.   

In addition to the facility’s envelope, great consideration was also made to the quality of the air inside of it. Paint, adhesives and sealants with low- or no-volatile organic compounds (VOC) were specified and used.  

Ripple Effect, a 150-foot-long responsive, kinetic sculpture, gently sways overhead when visitors walk underneath. Photo courtesy of Peter Wilson

Even the artwork created for the facility is environmentally conscious. Artists Julia Cole and Leigh Rosser make use of kinetic energy instead of electricity to give their artwork its desired effect. The artists installed a 150-foot-long responsive, kinetic sculpture named Ripple Effect, which gently sways overhead when visitors walk underneath.   

Sidebar: Southeast Community Center

Facility Size: 50,000 square feet
Location: Swope Park, Kansas City, Mo.
Date Completed: Dec. 13, 2008

Project Team List
Architect – KAI Design & Build, St. Louis, Mo., John Cahill,
Mechanical Engineer – KAI Design & Build, St. Louis, Mo., Promod Kumar
Structural Engineer – DuBois Consultants Inc., Kansas City, Mo. Cervente Sudduth
General Contractor – Titan Construction Organization Inc., Olathe, Kan.
Plumbing Engineering – Custom Engineering, Independence, Mo.
Landscape Architecture – Michael Ashley & Associates LLC, Olathe, Kan.

Sub Contractors
Operable Partitions - Abbey Simons Co., Kansas City, Mo.
Fencing – ACME Fence Co., Inc., 508 Duck Road, Grandview, MO 64030, 816-767-8200, acmefnc@aol.com
Signage – All Signs LLC, Topeka, Kan.
Drywall/Metal Framing –Kansas City, Kan.
Fire Sprinkler – American Fire Sprinkler Corp., Mission, Kan.
Gym Equipment – ATHCO LLC, Lenexa, Kan.
Landscaping/Irrigation – Audrie Seeley & Co. LLC, Kansas City, Mo.
Porous Pave Stones – BC Hardscapes LLC, Claycomo, Mo.
Steel – The Bratton Corp., Kansas City, Mo.
Precast – Building Erection Services Co.
Millwork - Carroll Seating Co., Kansas City, Mo.
Wood Flooring – Central Flooring, Lake Ozark, Mo.
Waterproofing – Commercial Waterproofing Inc., Parkville, Mo.
Precast – Coreslab Structures, Kansas City, Kan.
Carpentry – Counter Productive LLC, Kansas City, Mo.
Sheet Metal – Davila Sheet Metal Contracting, Raytown, Mo.