Project Data
- Location
- Kansas City, MO
- Size
- 52,000 square feet
- Year Completed
- 2022
- Type
- K-12 Education, Pre-Engineered Steel Building, High School, Middle School
- Collaborators
- Taliaferro and Brown (civil + landscape), Five by Five (mep), PMA (structural)
- Construction Manager
- McCownGordon Construction
- Photography
- Matthew Anderson
Hogan Preparatory Academy is a newly constructed public charter high school and middle school campus for grades 7–12, serving 650 students. The buildings rest on a constricted, irregularly shaped plateau perched above one of Kansas City’s historic boulevards. The plateau’s size and shape strongly influenced the design of both the building and the site. The high school (Phase 1) and middle school (Phase 2) are part of a four-phase master plan that will include demolition of the original high school, construction of a new gymnasium and football field, and expanded parking.
The high school and middle school buildings are organized around a courtyard and shaped by the constraints of the site’s form and topography. A breezeway through the first floor of the high school links walking paths between the upper and lower portions of the site and provides a covered entrance area.
All classroom spaces—where students spend most of their day—are located on the second level to take advantage of panoramic views overlooking the city and beyond. Public, communal, and staff areas occupy the first floor. This arrangement also provides an added layer of security by separating the building’s main entry from the second-floor classrooms.
The buildings utilize a pre-engineered metal building (PEMB) system to meet the project’s schedule and budget demands. The planning grid is arranged to maximize the efficiency of the PEMB system and reduce material costs. Designed, permitted, and built in just 15 months, the project required real-time collaboration with the construction manager and PEMB manufacturer.