Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
Original designs included an array of tiles set into the plaza surface in the shape of two reaching hands, but we became concerned about long-term weather impacts on floor-mounted tiles (Kansas City has harsh winter temperatures) and so switched to a wall-mount solution.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
For the final design, we worked with Kansas City Landscape Architects Plaid Collaborative (Rick Howell), to create a circular central plaza with bench-style concrete seating on its east and west sides that would house the wall-mounted tiles.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
Here the ground has been broken for both the plaza and walkways leading up to it.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
We chose a ‘dartboard’ pattern for the plaza’s expansion joints.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
Because of this, the contractor poured concentric sections of the slab in multiple sessions.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
This shows the formwork in place for the benches surrounding the plaza.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
Formwork was then built for the short columns separating smaller seating areas.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
Here the final concrete has been poured and cleaned up, for the plaza, benches, columns and walkways. Planting areas seen here will contain native plants.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
The design was shaped by the landscape architects to preserve a mature tree in the center of the park, casting pleasant shade on the plaza in the heat of summer.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
For the large ground art, we prepared a hardboard template for each reaching hand.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
After the slab had cured sufficiently, The templates were assembled and placed on the plaza.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
Then, we painted around the edges of the template with Peel-Tek liquid masking material atlas preservation, and the hardboard templates were removed, leaving a negative space for application of Bomanite Topper www.bomanite.com. Application by Musselman and Hall www.musselmanandhall.com.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
After the Bomanite cured, the Peel-Tek mask was removed.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
We worked with a community artist, residents and volunteers to collect almost 600 handprints from people all around the Lykins neighborhood – school children, visitors to the Resource Center, young soccer players, stakeholders, staff and community supporters.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
Parents were asked consent for palm printing their children, and how they would like their child’s name to appear on their tile.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
All the prints collected were digitally scanned, and significant identification details were ‘smudged’ to prevent illicit uses.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
The digital files were printed on a modified (Cerprint) Ricoh machine using black ceramic toner on fluxed, high-fire, laminated decal paper. Here a batch of tiles is air-drying overnight after application of decals and prior to firing at 1,550° F.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
After firing, the tiles were laid out in a final array, attached in groups of ten with tile backing tape, and numbered. This facilitated transportation and final layout for installation on site.
Mutual Aid, Lykins Square Park, East 8th Street and Norton Ave, Kansas City, MO :: 2024
Tiles used for this installation were freeze-thaw resistant, high-fire porcelain floor tiles (Mosa International) and mounted on the fully cured concrete with Mapei mortar and grout.