Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2019 - 9

"The rolling prairies of Kansas are
featured on this undulating medical
school green roof."
Jeffrey L. Bruce

STATE-OF-THE-ART LEARNING SPACE
TO SUPPORT NEW MODELS OF TEACHING

niversity of Kansas (KU) Medical Center
is a new, iconic facility 170,000 square foot
facility to accommodate modern learning
and facilitate the education of a greater number of physicians, nurses and allied health care
professionals. The new building serves as the
primary teaching facility for the KU Schools
of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions
that includes a simulation center and flexible,
state-of-the-art learning space to support new
models of teaching. Design elements inspired
by key facets of the building's purpose: connectivity, identity, a healthy and sustainable
environment, and transparency. The site
featured natural elements and the heritage of
Kansas with a terraced courtyard and outdoor
space with features representing the rolling
prairies of Kansas.
The site and neighborhood was highly
urbanized, so the conditions of the surrounding ecological systems were badly
degraded. The Health Education Building
(HEB) represents a pioneering resilient
oasis within a sea of dysfunctional natural
processes, designed to be restorative to the
community far beyond the boundaries of the
project. The improved ecological function
which extends to the neighborhood includes
a significant improvement to stormwater

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runoff, reductions in urban heat island, wildlife habitat and food sources, establishment
of nutrient cycling and improved air quality.
The green roof is located on top of a
series of classrooms that are conditioned
space, having direct impact to the mechanical systems of the structure. The green
roof also provides indirect contributions
to the reduced energy costs of the adjacent
campus buildings. The green roof reduces
urban heat island temperatures around
the existing structures, thereby reducing
their cooling requirements. The Landscape
Architect calculated the impact of each
cycle of the 100,000 gallon of use irrigation
represents 140 tons of evaporative cooling
mitigating the impact of urban heat island
in the city core.
HEB utilizes a limited simple palette of
native plants and prairie grasses which is intended to provide the framework for further
natural development in biodiversity. The
majority of the green roof on site has been
returned to natural ecological function with
a limited intervention in the future. Much
of the plant material was selected from a
native prairie species which will provide
increased resilience of the native ecological
community as niche species establish them-

CATEGORY
Extensive Commercial/
Industrial/Institutional
PROJECT
Health Education Building
LOCATION
Kansas City, MO
AWARD WINNER
Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company
TEAM MEMBERS
Green Roof Consultant
Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company
Landscape Architect
Land3 Studio
Design Architect
CO Architects
Landscape Contractor
Hermes Landscape
Soil Blender & Supplier
Missouri Organic
Architect of Record
Helix Architects
General Contractor
McGowen Gordon
Testing Laboratory
Turf & Soil Diagnostic

LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR / FALL 2019 / 9

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Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2019

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