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Photographer: Bryan Tarnowski | Multistudio
The City of Lenexa was founded in 1869 as a railroad stop along what would become the St. Louis – San Francisco Railway. The town grew into a city, eventually establishing a new civic center several miles west of what is now called Old Town Lenexa.
Old Town exists today as a block that is defined by its historic buildings, the still-active train lines, and the Lenexa Old Town Activity Center. Vintage awnings and welcoming front porches on every storefront create a distinctive visual identity from which our team drew inspiration for the Activity Center renovation.
The original Lenexa Old Town Activity Center was a complex of brick, wood siding, and precast buildings that had been added onto it over the years through a series of small additions. This incremental development led to a visual language that lacked congruence across the buildings.
Multistudio’s Architecture, Interiors, and Brand Experience teams collaborated to renovate existing structures and add a new arm of the building while improving visual and programmatic cohesion across the site. Their coordinated approach elevated and modernized the campus aesthetic, improving operational functionality and prioritizing community, wellness, sustainability, and future flexibility.
Brand Experience designed a custom visual language that is applied across the exterior and interior of the campus, unifying the various activity spaces and providing signage and wayfinding cues for improved navigation. A multimedia graphic mural spans the large hallway that connects the east entrance to the west lobby and gymnasium, using branded graphics and historical photography to illustrate the history of sport and leisure in Lenexa.
Architectural and Interior updates included renovating the existing Community Center lobby, kitchen, and restrooms; adding a flexible program room and addressing campus-wide accessibility needs; unifying the entrances; and expanding capacity for senior programming on the east side of the campus.
The new exterior development includes active green spaces, pickleball courts, basketball courts and a Bike Share KC rental hub. Other outdoor improvements include updated amenities at the adjacent park and community gardens and the addition of a public art mural adjacent to the pickleball courts.
