For over 35 years, this award-winning, listener-supported public radio station had been broadcasting from an aging facility near the Wichita State University campus. Station leaders wanted to move downtown, using the city center as a springboard to spread KMUW buzz throughout the community. This relocation provides proximity to a thriving local art and music scene, as well as make the station more accessible to sponsors and community partners.
Project Details
Our team remodeled an existing 7,000-square-foot office space in the Old Town area of the city. The goal was to maintain the raw industrial feel of the exposed brick and paint on concrete. A key design feature is the glass overhead garage door as the main entry, which reiterates the station’s open-door policy as well as tying back to the live music component of the station. This has been immensely popular as an inviting transparency element and in welcoming the public into the station’s space. Recording studios jumped from just three at the previous location to nine at the new one, along with significant upgrades to acoustics and sound recording capabilities.