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Ronald McDonald House - Longfellow Park

Information

Location Kansas City, Missouri
Size 44,083 SF
Completion 2006
Services Architecture
Project Type Residential

In an effort to keep pace with the demand, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) added capacity with a new facility offering forty-one guest rooms to augment their existing facility. The site occupies the southern end of Longfellow Park, within easy walking distance of the existing house. The new building occupies less than half of the 1.65-acre park; the remaining parkland was redesigned as a “Healing Garden” to revitalize and serve the Hospital Hill community. The design goal was to use the positive qualities of the park and the community to promote a comfortable, stress-free environment for the families of critically ill children.

Impact + Innovation

The design for the Ronald McDonald House in Longfellow Park explores the notion of restorative environments as it aids to the healing process. Every aspect of the design promotes a stress-free environment where families with critically ill children can rest and retreat from the pressures of hospitals, treatments and the inconveniences of being away from home for up to six months. Likewise, the design will actively promote a sense of healing and safety via air quality, energy-efficiency, access to daylight, natural amenities, color, noise control, spatial comfort and privacy.

Process

The design is organized around a courtyard garden defined by east and west living wings and a central dining commons and roof garden. Given the House’s size and urban focus, the courtyard serves as an effective response to the site, creating clear public/private boundaries and transitions between the different house functions, adjacent park and surrounding community. The first floor is an open plan of light, airy community spaces and administrative offices tucked under cantilevered living wings. Its public nature is clearly expressed through transparency, open-ended spaces and inside-outside relationships to the site.

People

Team

Steve McDowell
Clint Blew
Brad Clark
Brian Rock
Mike Stofiel
Gary Jarvis
Tod Hueser
Ben Allers
Bruce Snyder
Ashley Whitham
Timothy Duggan
Aralia Sendejas

Client

Ronald McDonald House Charities Kansas City

BNIM has worked closely with Ronald McDonald House Charities to help us understand how a sustainable approach to our new House can benefit the health and well-being of our guest families, and equally importantly, how it can improve the overall performance of the building while lowering our long-term operating costs. Sustainable design was a new concept to us when we started our project, but BNIM helped us make the obvious connection between ill children and healthy environments. Our new Ronald McDonald House will positively impact the children’s physical and psychological health. Essentially, BNIM has shown us better ways to support families through smart and thoughtful design. The architect and the executive director from the Wellington New Zealand Ronald McDonald house have recently been on a world-wide tour in preparation for building their new house. The architect was ‘blown away’ by Kansas City’s Ronald McDonald house and both said it was the best out of all the houses they have seen. It was ‘hands down their favorite.’ They loved the ‘contemporary style, the light, airy feel and the smart design.’

Mrs. Ann Jerome, Executive Director, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Kansas City