Located in Overland Park, KS, the 41,000-square-foot Museum at Prairiefire is clad in stone that represents the rolling hillside of the region alongside fiery sparks of color as part of a 60-acre mixed use development outside of Kansas City.
The museum was to reflect the story and uniqueness of controlled burns in the local Flint Hills of eastern Kansas. The building envelope to showcase the charring of the hillsides with a gradient of colored stones, along with the colored insulated dichroic glass representing the flames.
Additionally, the second-floor Discovery Room was to be completely wrapped in stone, even its sloping soffits. With a requirement for such a unique geometric shape, matching the rest of the building’s stone façade within code tolerance posed the project’s greatest obstacle.
The stonework of the museum is a mix of regionally-sourced natural limestone and manufactured stone veneer from Echelon, a product line from Oldcastle APG, A CRH Company.