Company: 360° Architecture (Formerly CDFM² Architecture, Inc.)
Headquarters: Kansas City, Missouri
Industry: Architecture
Company Size: Small (annual revenues of less than $50 million)

"All great cities start at the street level, and we want to help make our city great. This is where we live, and the Avenue of the Arts makes Kansas City memorable."
                – James R. Calcara, AIA, Managing Principal

Objectives
To demonstrate its commitment to art in architecture and urban design, to increase name recognition and visibility of its services, and to draw visitors and residents downtown.

Process

• To celebrate Kansas City’s sesquicentennial and its own 20th anniversary, CDFM² Architecture initiated the Avenue of the Arts project, an outdoor exhibition of contemporary art in the heart of downtown Kansas City.
• CDFM² began the project by taking its idea to the Kansas City Municipal Arts Commission and other businesses in the area. Together, these organizations collaborated to recruit visual artists to design works and secure funding for the project. This led to the establishment of the Avenue for the Arts Foundation, a not-for-profit organization focused on making the project an annual event.
• Since its inception in 1998, each annual opening celebration is planned and managed by CDFM² volunteers. Company volunteers also provide the design for Avenue of the Arts street banners and produce a brochure with information about the project’s installations, the participating artists and a map of the installations.

Results
CDFM² Architecture has garnered extensive public recognition from Avenue of the Arts and is viewed as one of the leading supporters of the arts in Kansas City. Additionally, the project fosters the exchange of ideas in the workplace, sets the company apart from more than 300 other architecture firms in the city, helps to bring substantial numbers of people downtown and is a launching pad for the careers of many artists.

« back to Case Studies