“We like to say, we don’t make walls; we liberate the space between them,” said Andre’ Davis, business development manager for BUILT. “We serve as a strategic partner to anyone interested in building better, using technology and clean construction methods to future-proof their space.”
Read article in Metro Wire Media by Krista Kalus
Don Peterson discusses the future of rural healthcare including the challenges, current realities, a view from the private industry and the right next step. Watch our short four-part video series and learn more.
Time passes and society changes, and so does the city and the melodies it plays. But the music remains a constant thread connecting Kansas City over decades, across state lines, through hardship and prosperity.
“It’s a reminder that while our future is unpredictable, our past holds the key to what keeps us together … and there’s nothing like music to bring Kansas Citians together.” —
“Everything we do as the Kansas City Symphony is rooted in history and art and in relating what was to what is,” said Danny Beckley, Executive Director of the Symphony.
And it only had to look out the windows of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts to find a new home to fit that mission perfectly.
We partnered with the Kansas City Symphony and Helix Architecture + Design to create just such an environment within the Webster School, which dates to 1885 — originally the oldest structure in the Kansas City public school district.
The former classrooms “really wouldn’t be conducive to anything more than bullpens, so we had to think creatively about how to use this building,” said Alissa Wehmueller, Principal, Helix/Architecture + Design.
“The team wanted to do “two things at once,” Wehmueller said. “Maintain the historic quality of the building [and] achieve the program and make it work for the symphony.”
“DIRTT walls became a really great solution,” said Beckley, to the question of how to incorporate private offices without permanently adding any structure that didn’t feel authentic to the building.
DIRTT creates an environment that reflects a fusion between the ornate features of the Richardson Romanesque building and the contemporary architecture of the Kauffman Center.
The glass DIRTT walls complement the Center’s iconic glass atrium and segment the building to make it suitable for the symphony’s needs, without hiding its original features.
“They brought a polished, elevated feel to this space,” said Wehmueller.
That constant collaboration between the symphony, the building owner and their partners has given new life to a historic building and a new home to Kansas City’s rich musical history.
“There is nowhere the symphony would rather be than in the Crossroads art district,” said Beckley.” — Beckley
“And to have them in a historic landmark? That makes it even better. The Webster School gives us the ability to introduce people to what we do and to open our arms and say, ‘we’re for you, too.’”
As the business world constantly moves forward, the main goals remain growth and expansion. Yet growth inflicts demands on a business’s technology, staff, and even physical environment.
To foster expansion, businesses require larger teams, up–to–date technology, and an ever growing and changing office environment. Our team can help cultivate office conditions that change with you and the evolution of technology.
Vantage Credit Union worked with us in the past on a couple other smaller projects using DIRTT wall systems. When they began to outgrow their physical environment, they knew it was time to expand their new headquarters and contacted our team with a desire for a working environment employees would enjoy—something fun, different, expansive, and inviting.
New technology in prefab construction lends solutions to businesses. Using DIRTT wall systems, we crafted a custom working space of 20 offices, plus meeting, conference, and training rooms. Along the way, our team embedded wall technology where necessary.
The goal was to preserve the tall ceilings during the expansion. Despite the challenge, our team provided Vantage 13 feet of DIRTT walls. “We challenged them…they found a way to make all that work,” said John Hopkins, Chief Risk Officer at Vantage Credit Union.
Functional design makes doing the work of your business easier and more efficient while creating space for partnership. Now, the office designs are more cost and time effective. When the team at Vantage Credit Union saw their new headquarters, they were in awe of how quickly and masterfully a blank slate turned into an open and bright usable office environment.
Never has the demand of businesses been higher. We’re aiming to create meaningful working environments and offices that can help solve some of world’s biggest challenges. Let’s redefine office design and keep building strategically for tomorrow.
As the world shifted all around us this past year, spaces and how we spend time inside them also shifted.
In-person white board sessions moved to video conferences and water cooler conversations became non-existent. Retail spaces had to close their doors for months and restaurants ran food to customers’ cars or homes instead of inviting them in.
Commercial real estate is no stranger to change. Between market shifts, economic fluctuations, and tenant lease agreements, those in this industry have always felt the need to stay on their toes.
Over the years, they’ve had to ask the right questions and listen. How do people want to shop? What kind of environment do people want to live in? How has work changed? Enter ever-changing technology and needs that fluctuate even more.
So while no one could’ve planned for the changes over this past year, if we’ve learned anything, it’s that the path forward isn’t rigid or cold. The path forward is through agility and through a people-first approach.
“Most people feel like there’s always this pendulum swing. From never going back to work again, to back at work – collaborating and innovating” – Chad Stafford, President, Occidental Management
“Spaces are going to change. It requires more flexibility, and the ability to change those dynamics quickly.”
It requires asking good questions, listening, and partnering with those that care. It requires a real understanding of the impact the commercial real estate industry can make.
As people start moving towards more in-person white board sessions, quick chats at the water cooler about the weather, and enjoying meals inside their favorite restaurants, their needs and expectations will be different from what they were a year ago. And so will the needs of the tenants, owners, and managers of those in these spaces.
The spaces themselves may need to change, but one thing is always constant: there will be people inside them. And as long as those in this industry keep that at the top of their minds and at the forefront of any decisions they make towards change – we’re moving in the right direction.
“On top of the tight timeline, we really wanted a space that was different than your average dental office. We wanted to set ourselves apart from other practices…”
In 2018, Dr. Chad Wollard, and the team at Valencia Endodontics on the West Plaza of Kansas City, were faced with a very unique challenge: A lease renegotiation stalled, leaving approximately five months for the Valencia team to find a new space, communicate with their patients, and move their entire operation.
That’s when they engaged our team at Built, along with our partners at Urban Prairie Architectural Collaborative.
“By the time our plans were actually approved and finished, we had about 65 days to build the space out.”
“At that point, there were concrete floors in the space, open duct work, and electrical cords hanging from an unfinished ceiling,” Dr. Wollard recalled. “I was pretty nervous that we weren’t going to be able to meet the timeline. With traditional construction, there was no way we were going to meet that timeline.”
Fortunately for the Valencia practice, our team at Built, and Barrett Kroll, the architect from Urban Prairie, remained steadfast, calm, and guided Dr. Wollard through the process, ensuring all timelines would be met, and his team would be back up and running in the new space.
“On top of the tight timeline, we really wanted a space that was different than your average dental office. We wanted to set ourselves apart from other practices that just had drywall with paint on the walls. Having different textures and materials on the wall, with unique lighting and door spaces, Built had a lot of design options that really weren’t available through traditional construction,” said Dr. Wollard.
Even with taking a week off for the Christmas holiday, the combined teams finished the project, and seamlessly helped Valencia close their prior office on a Friday, and open in their new, modern space that next Monday.
“Closing down for an extended period of time was just not an option for us. We really had zero downtime. The team at Built was incredible, they’re perfectionists. All the walls and doors that you see in our space were put up in a span of three to four days,” Dr. Wollard added.
“It makes me smile, really every morning when I walk in…it’s a crisp, clean look. Even after having this space for a year and a half, it looks brand new. The design aspect, the look and the feel, our patients absolutely love it, which puts a bigger smile on my face,” Dr. Wollard concluded.
Which naturally, makes us smile too.
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