Kansas City Art Institute Breaks Ground on Paul and Linda DeBruce Hall

KANSAS CITY, MO – The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) broke ground in April on an 18,000-square-foot, $30-million building, the Paul and Linda DeBruce Hall. Designed specifically for art history, creative writing, entrepreneurial studies, liberal arts, and student services, Paul and Linda DeBruce Hall will impact every student at the college and will elevate the profile of KCAI’s academic programs in a state-of-the-art facility.

Kansas City Art Institute

A unique architectural feature of the Hall will be the entry portal. Visitors will enter through a portal adorned with panels, each engraved with the name of influential art historians of the past and present. The entrance will become a tribute to the individuals who have interpreted and written about art and artists for future generations.

The Hall is designed by Kansas City-based architecture firm Hufft. Award-winning landscape architects Hoerr Schaudt will design the expansive outdoor spaces and Kansas City construction company McCownGordon will build the facility.

Construction is expected to finish in August 2020.

Featured

  • New City School

    Turning Crisis into Opportunity: Transforming New City School

    When New City School in St. Louis suffered catastrophic flood damage in July 2022, the event could have marked a serious setback for the 100-year-old institution. Instead, it became a forward-looking opportunity.

  • Harvard Announces Replacement Facility for Native American Program

    Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., recently announced that construction will begin this spring on a new home for its Native American Program, according to university news. The 6,500-square-foot, all-electric building will stand three stories and serve as the central hub for the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP).

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Education Design Showcase Awards

    Spaces4Learning has opened submissions for the 2026 Education Design Showcase! The awards program launched in 1999 with the goal of celebrating innovative, practical solutions in the planning, design, and construction of K–12 and higher-education facilities. EDS recognizes new developments that help achieve optimal learning environments, as well as the architecture firms that brought the ideas to life.