"Beer," Benjamin Franklin supposedly said, "is constant proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

Program: A two-story, 60,000-square-foot home for the Kansas City Ballet. The project, an adaptive reuse of a coal-burning power plant from 1914, includes a performance theater, dance studios, locker rooms, administrative offices, a prefunction space, and a basement wardrobe workspace. A ballet school operates in some of the studios, offering classes to children and adults. Design concept and solution: When BNIM started work, the steel and masonry structure had been abandoned since the 1970s and was battered by structural deterioration and standing water. Since the building no longer needed to support heavy coal-processing equipment, the architects were able to brace

ASAI Architecture's new National World War I Museum and finely reconstructed Liberty Memorial solemnly tell the story of the "War to End All Wars."

Project Specs Liberty Memorial and National World War I Museum Kansas City, Missouri ASAI Architecture << Return to article the People Architecture, interiors, landscape: ASAI Architecture Stephen Abend, FAIA Crichton Singleton, FAIA Consultants: Bob D. Campbell & Co. (structural) W.L. Cassell Associates (m/e/p); SK Design Group (civil) Ralph Appelbaum Associates (exhibits) John G. Waite & Associates (preservation) Architectural and Historical Research (history) Yarnell Associates (lighting); Acoustical Design Group Contractors: J.E. Dunn Construction Turner Construction   the Products Indiana limestone: Evans Limestone Waterproofing: American Hydrotech Elevators: Otis Elevators Skylights: Super Sky Products Steel windows: Hope’s Windows Roofing: Carlisle Roofing