In 2017, Lenexa City opened a 300,000 plus-square-foot mixed-use campus, that includes a new City Hall, Park University, the Lenexa Public Market, and Lenexa Rec Center and public gathering spaces. Bomanite Licensee, Musselman & Hall had the opportunity to work with PGAV Architects and Plaid Collaborative on the design of the pedestrian plaza as part of the Civic Center.
“PLAID collaborated with the City and PGAV to design outdoor spaces to express a “prairie deconstructed” theme, which embodies the spirit and character of the native prairie (landform, geology, and vegetation) and the history of Lenexa in a contemporary, sustainable, and sophisticated motif. The three primary outdoor spaces are the Festival Plaza (a large plaza for public gatherings and celebrations), the Vista (a space for activities that support the adjacent community recreation center and farmers market), and the Strata (a collection of intimate spaces for City Hall and public market patrons). While each space differs in use, scale, and configuration, a common pallet of materials, furnishings, and design details complement the building architecture, provide visual continuity, and reinforce an overall sense of place.”
The Festival plaza incorporated 13,000 square feet of the Bomanite Sandscape Texture Exposed Aggregate System and then was stained with pops of vibrant and subtle colors of Bomanite Con-Color that were cohesive with the overall design. The detailed stain pattern created unique challenges and used four colors: Travertine Beige, Franciscan Red, French Gray, and Gunmetal Gray. Once the color was in place the plaza was sealed with Bomaseal C-18 to help withstand the outside elements of weather and human traffic.
The center piece of the project was the 700 square feet History Node. The Bomanite Alloy Exposed Aggregate System in Natural Gray was chosen for this portion of the plaza, installed, and then engraved with 23 significant names, dates, and events unique to the history of Lenexa. The text was of varying scale from 4” to 9” tall. Layout and execution was critical, and accuracy was of the utmost importance.
The project conception was citizen-led and has helped Lenexa visualize their dream of starting a new downtown in Lenexa. This is a beautiful project and exhibits the potential and beauty of quality Bomanite Decorative Concrete.
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