City Union Mission is a not-for-profit organization serving the base level needs of those whose lives have been disrupted in the Kansas City community. Their previous facility was inadequate to meet rising demands, thus a separate structure housing the Christian Life Program was created. This program nurtures the re-entry process for one-hundred of the most promising men who will live and attend classes in the facility during their one-year curriculum. The resulting design supports the belief that students of the program deserve to experience the best during their course and afterward wherever their new life leads them.

Located in a neglected neighborhood within the urban core, the creation of a safe and healthy environment was paramount. To address this goal, the facility was developed around a secure courtyard that connects the interior and exterior throughout. The site design incorporates a variety of sustainable features and is a showcase for urban stormwater management. The small site includes three vegetated infiltration basins that accept all of the roof run-off from the building with no connection to the City’s storm sewer system. Indigenous plant materials that require low-maintenance were integrated throughout the site.