The Center for Medical Education Innovation (CMEI) at Kansas City University was designed to adapt to changes in medical curriculum and pedagogy. The project program supported the mission of training leaders in osteopathic medicine with a state-of-the-art facility that leverages active-learning and simulation-based training.
The four-story, 56,000-sf medical education facility and an adjacent two-level free-standing parking structure were designed with key themes of transparency and multi functionality. The building consists of about 26,000 sf of assignable medical education space and an additional 9,500 sf of shelled classroom space.
The CMEI helps define a new campus entry and lower quad. The pavilion-like four-story building takes advantage of the site’s sloping topography while maintaining the scale of the existing campus by lowering one floor into the sloping site. This approach creates the illusion of a three-story structure on the campus quad.
Users are introduced to the building through the connective, multi-level, 3,000 sf lobby that doubles as a public forum to provide waiting, colloquia, study, and briefing functions. The raked, glazed two-story lobby and third-floor terrace appear to hover over the ground plane to offer a panoramic view of downtown Kansas City. The pavilion is wrapped with a single folding-plane gesture, which begins at the articulated lobby floor, bends upward to form the north wall, and crests to create a dramatically extended roof to help shade the south-facing glass elevation.
![KCU Center for Medical Education Innovation06_Timmerman_11.jpg](/sites/default/files/inline-images/KCU%20Center%20for%20Medical%20Education%20Innovation06_Timmerman_11.jpg)
Transparency guided the articulation of the glass curtain wall to showcase the next-generation medical education environments within. The glazing defines the visually open facility, highlighting its learning activities during the day, and transforming into a subtle, illuminated beacon on campus at night. Evoking the heritage of the campus’ brick-clad buildings, the materials palette is rounded out with low-maintenance brick, metal panel, and precast concrete.
The building can adapt to changes in medical curriculum and pedagogy with a 2,800 sf simulation deck, clinical skills suite with 22 mock exam rooms, a 6,500 sf osteopathic manipulative medicine lab, and multi‐use forum that support multiple functions. The simulation suite houses an innovative and adaptable “black box” stage that can accommodate small-scale scenarios as well as large trauma events. The open ceiling utilizes a theater grid of steel tubes to supply air, vacuum, electricity, and data for simulation use, as well as hanging lights and simulation equipment that can be freely arranged throughout the space.
Situating the simulation suite at grade with its 40-foot opening to the exterior enables the space to expand onto the adjacent campus quad. Operable walls along exam rooms allow the standardized patient lounge to flex as a health assessment lab or serve as an after-hours student study space.
On the project team:
Owner and/or developer: Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences
Design architect: CO Architects
Architect of record: Helix Architecture + Design
MEP engineer (and lighting): Henderson Engineers
Structural (and civil) engineer: Walter P Moore
Acoustical, AV/IT Design: The Sextant Group (now NV5)
Landscape: Confluence
General contractor/construction manager: JE Dunn Construction
KCUMB Video from CO Architects on Vimeo.
A vision of the future of medical education buildings
Here is the design statement from architect CO Architects:
The Center for Medical Education Innovation (CMEI) project for Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (KCU) in Kansas City, MO, is the first of a new generation of buildings at KCU aimed at fostering growth within the ever-evolving field of osteopathic medical education. Designed by CO Architects in collaboration with Helix Architecture + Design, the $33-million CMEI has an iconic design that bridges KCU’s history and traditions with its forward-looking role as a leader in osteopathic medicine.
Sited on approximately 4.5 acres of previously undeveloped green space on the west edge of campus, the CMEI helps define a new campus entry and Lower Quad. The pavilion-like four-story building takes advantage of the site’s sloping topography while maintaining the scale of the existing campus by lowering one floor into the sloping site, creating the illusion of a three-story structure on the campus quad.
Users are introduced to the building through the connective, multi-level, multi-functional, 3,000-square-foot lobby that doubles as a public forum to provide waiting, colloquia, study, and briefing functions. The raked, glazed two-story lobby and third-floor terrace appear to hover over the ground plane to offer a panoramic view of downtown Kansas City, thereby visually connecting the university with the city to emphasize KCU’s mission of improving the well-being of the larger community. The pavilion is wrapped with a single folding-plane gesture, which begins at the articulated lobby floor, bends upward to form the north wall, and then crests to create a dramatically extended roof to help shade the south-facing glass elevation.
Transparency is a key element of the design of the CMEI, guiding the articulation of the glass curtain wall to showcase the next-generation medical education environments within. The glazing defines the visually open facility, highlighting its learning activities during the day, and transforming into a subtle, illuminated beacon on campus at night. The building is a dramatic anchor to a future new campus entry. Evoking the heritage of the campus’ brick-clad buildings, the materials palette is rounded out with low-maintenance brick, metal panel, and precast concrete.
![KCU Center for Medical Education Innovation05_Timmerman_38.jpg](/sites/default/files/inline-images/KCU%20Center%20for%20Medical%20Education%20Innovation05_Timmerman_38.jpg)
Paramount to the success of the project is the building’s ability to adapt to changes in medical curriculum and pedagogy, and for the programed spaces—a 2,800-square-foot simulation deck, clinical skills suite with 22 mock exam rooms, 6,500-square-foot osteopathic manipulative medicine lab, and multi‐use forum—to support multiple functions. The simulation suite houses an innovative and adaptable “black box” stage that can accommodate small-scale scenarios as well as large trauma events.
The open ceiling above utilizes a theater grid of steel tubes to supply air, vacuum, electricity, and data for simulation use, as well as hanging lights and simulation equipment that can be freely arranged throughout the space. Situating the simulation suite at grade with its 40-foot opening to the exterior enables the space to expand onto the adjacent campus quad. Operable walls along exam rooms allow the standardized patient lounge to flex as a health assessment lab, or serve as an after-hours student study space.
The design of the CMEI, which is LEED certified, addresses sustainability from multiple fronts. The building form was conceived to strengthen performance: It is oriented lengthwise in the east/west direction, so solar heat gain is easier to control on the longer north and south façades. The broad, 24-foot-deep cantilevered roof fully shades the south façade during the summer. Brick construction on the east façade blocks harsh early morning sunlight, and semi-transparent metal-mesh fins on the west side shade the glazing while maintaining the impressive views of the Kansas City skyline. The metal-mesh system, which features a horizontal pattern at 50% opacity, attaches to the building via ultra-thin cable rail, which allowed the design team to meet challenging wind-load requirements.
CMEI supports the University’s educational mission to train compassionate and competent leaders in osteopathic medicine by creating a state-of-the-art facility that leverages active-learning and simulation-based training. Through its sensitive yet bold architectural design—with the key themes of transparency and multi functionality—the building reflects both the University’s heritage and tradition as well as its vision for the future of medical education and community engagement.
![KCU Center for Medical Education Innovation 04_Timmerman_46.jpg](/sites/default/files/inline-images/KCU%20Center%20for%20Medical%20Education%20Innovation%2004_Timmerman_46.jpg)
![KCU Center for Medical Education Innovationm 01 Timmerman_43](/sites/default/files/inline-images/KCU%20Center%20for%20Medical%20Education%20Innovationm%2001%20Timmerman_43.jpg)
![KCU Center for Medical Education Innovation 03 Timmerman_22](/sites/default/files/inline-images/KCU%20Center%20for%20Medical%20Education%20Innovation%2003%20Timmerman_22.jpg)
![KCU Center for Medical Education Innovation07_Timmerman_05](/sites/default/files/inline-images/KCU%20Center%20for%20Medical%20Education%20Innovation07_Timmerman_05.jpg)
Related Stories
| Apr 13, 2012
Goettsch Partners designs new music building for Northwestern
The showcase facility is the recital hall, an intimate, two-level space with undulating walls of wood that provide optimal acoustics and lead to the stage, as well as a 50-foot-high wall of cable-supported, double-skin glass
| Apr 11, 2012
C.W. Driver completes Rec Center on CSUN campus
The state-of-the-art fitness center supports university’s goal to encourage student recruitment and retention.
| Mar 28, 2012
Holden Cancer Center opens at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
The new cancer clinic provides a significant increase in patient space from the prior facility, which was located in an adjacent building.
| Mar 28, 2012
Tsoi/Kobis & Associates developing master plan for UT Southwestern Medical Center
Firm will spearhead strategies for transforming existing in-patient hospital into state-of-the-art ambulatory care facility.
| Mar 27, 2012
Groundbreaking held for Valencia College West Campus Building 10 in Orlando
Project led by design-build team of SchenkelShultz Architecture and McCree General Contractors, both of Orlando.
| Mar 26, 2012
McCarthy tops off Math and Science Building at San Diego Mesa College
Designed by Architects | Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker, the new San Diego Mesa College Math and Science Building will provide new educational space for students pursuing degree and certificate programs in biology, chemistry, physical sciences and mathematics.
| Mar 21, 2012
Iowa’s Mercy Medical Center’s new Emergency Department constructed using Lean design
New Emergency Department features a "racetrack" design with a central nurses' station encircled by 19 private patient examination rooms and 2 trauma treatment rooms.
| Mar 20, 2012
Stanford’s Knight Management Center Awarded LEED Platinum
The 360,000-sf facility underscores what is taught in many of the school’s electives such as Environmental Entrepreneurship and Environmental Science for Managers and Policy Makers, as well as in core classes covering sustainability across the functions of business.
| Mar 19, 2012
HKS Selected for Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie
Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachiewill incorporate advanced technology including telemedicine, digital imaging, remote patient monitoring, electronic medical records and computer patient records.
| Mar 14, 2012
Tsoi/Kobus and Centerbrook to design Jackson Laboratory facility in Farmington, Conn.
Building will house research into personalized, gene-based cancer screening and treatment.