Missouri Innovation Campus

Adaptive Design to Evolve with Future Careers

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Client

Lee’s Summit R-7 School District

Project Location

Lee's Summit, MO

Students

1,800

Area

135,000 SF

A progressive partnership between Lee’s Summit R-7 School District, Metropolitan Community College, and the University of Central Missouri is reshaping the way students experience education at the new Missouri Innovation Campus. The 2 + 2 program, which is a collaboration between both industry and academic partners, focuses on learner outcomes in an immersive and rich real-life workplace experience. Students from 16 to 30 are working in a classroom and workplace towards the same degree.

The building takes on a sense of academia-meets-Google with a commitment to facilitate incidental contact that results in collaboration between students, teachers, and higher education faculty: Learning and teaching happens everywhere. We partnered with Gould Evans on this facility that supports a diverse and flexible program to evolve as future careers are invented. Programs including networking, engineering, medical, bio medical, graphics, hospitality, and cybersecurity are broken out across quadrants on two floors for ease of wayfinding.

This facility is designed to be used by all disciplines and programs, in that it is programmed like a higher education facility. There are dedicated labs for specific programs and adjacencies to flexible spaces for a changing curriculum. Industry partners are encouraged to use hoteling spaces and the conference center, to see and be seen by students of the facility. Industry leaders in the hi-tech medical records field, logistics experts, and global engineering firms are a part of the day-to-day functions of this building.

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Carpeted seating area. Left, a red partition and illuminated canopy separates a section. A staircase with grey rail is right

Hallway with seating spaces. Floor to ceiling windows, right, with transparent wall classrooms left, and drop ceiling details

Atrium hallway at entrance with illuminated wood panel walkways above. Black stairs with wood walls has Explore painted up it

Large commons space with seating under a black ceiling and a geometric orange drop ceiling detail with recessed lights

In a white classroom with an orange accent wall, students at a table look at a portable screen with their teacher

Atrium seating area divided by a hallway. Windows look into learning spaces, left. A 2nd floor walkway extends above left

View of atrium from 2nd floor walkway ending in double height windows. Orange walls on the right, and a seating area below

Exterior view of 2 story building with stone lower building and textural metallic upper. Double height windows at center

Side view of building shows patio to left of entrance with picnic tables. Upper half of building has recessed thin windows

Front view of building looking down a treelined path to the front entrance with 2 sets of glass double doors

The unique design of MIC and industry and post-secondary aligned instruction of STA teachers allows students to become agents of their learning. The innovative learning environment of MIC allows students to authentically engage and apply their learning and open doors to the real world for which they are preparing. The creative design and industry-aligned programming empowers students to own their learning, so they can articulate the high level skills and knowledge proficiency that they have gained."

Dr. Jeremy Bonnesen Director/Principal, Summit Technology Academy at Missouri Innovation Campus

The programs that are offered [at STA] to students from numerous high schools, along with the building, create an environment that one dreams of working in. Our rooms and common areas are all designed with collaboration in mind. The areas offer students flexible seating configurations, use of whiteboards, and TV monitors. Many of the classrooms have equipment and technology that align with what one would encounter in industry settings. We have a skills lab for our nursing students and flight simulators for aviation students. Our environment allows students to work and create together."

Kristen Pierson, RHIA, CPC Allied Health Instructor and HOSA Advisor, Summit Technology Academy at Missouri Innovation Campus

2018 American Architecture Award

The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design

2018 Grand Prize Award

Learning by Design Magazine

2018 Capstone Award for Community Impact

Kansas City Business Journal

2017 Design Concept Award

A4LE

2017 Excellence in Architecture Award - Special Citation

SCUP

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