Executive Summary

Findings, Recommendations, and Transferable Lessons

Sections:

Project Purpose 

The KC Cultural EcoDistrict initiative brings together two of Kansas City’s most significant cultural institutions, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and Linda Hall Library, to evaluate how buildings, landscapes, and operations can better respond to climate risk while strengthening long-term stewardship of collections, people, and place. 

Supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Climate Smart grant, the project was intentionally pre-decisional. Its purpose was not to prescribe specific capital projects, but to develop a repeatable, evidence-based framework that cultural and civic institutions can use to understand climate vulnerability, prioritize investments, and coordinate action across a shared district. 

The outcome is both a set of institution-specific findings and a scalable EcoDistrict methodology that can be applied by peer organizations locally and nationally. 

Key Findings 

1. Climate risk is already affecting core institutional missions 

Both institutions are experiencing climate-driven stresses that directly affect collections, operations, and public experience. These include more frequent temperature extremes, intense rainfall events, humidity variability, and utility outages. While neither campus faces immediate failure, the analysis confirms that incremental degradation rather than catastrophic events poses the greatest long-term risk to cultural assets. 

2. Building envelopes are the first and most cost-effective line of defense 

Across all modeled buildings, one conclusion is consistent: Reducing uncontrolled air leakage and improving water management deliver the largest combined benefits for energy savings, resilience, and collection protection. 

Envelope improvements such as air sealing, glazing tuning, drainage correction, and moisture control consistently outperform more capital-intensive measures when evaluated through life-cycle cost, carbon impact, and risk reduction. 

3. Mechanical and utility systems remain the primary decarbonization lever 

While envelope improvements reduce demand, central utility strategies ultimately determine carbon outcomes. Modeling shows that electrification, optimized plant strategies including geothermal and thermal storage where applicable, and clean power procurement can reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by seventy to ninety percent when paired with envelope improvements. 

Importantly, envelope investments make these system transitions more feasible, more reliable, and less costly over time. 

4. Landscape systems function as critical infrastructure 

Landscape analysis revealed that drainage failures, soil compaction, aging tree canopy, and extensive turf areas already contribute to foundation settlement, moisture intrusion, and urban heat island effects. At the same time, tree canopy and landscape sequestration represent one of the district’s strongest climate assets, with the ability to offset a substantial portion of operational carbon once building performance improves. 

5. Health, accessibility, and wellbeing outcomes are uneven but actionable 

Recent progress such as campus-wide WELL certification at the Nelson-Atkins and a comprehensive ADA assessment at Linda Hall Library provide strong foundations. However, gaps remain in thermal consistency, wayfinding, outdoor comfort, and staff-focused spaces, particularly during extreme weather. These issues are closely tied to envelope performance and landscape microclimate, reinforcing the importance of integrated planning. 

6. Waste systems lack data but offer near-term opportunity 

Neither institution currently has sufficient quantitative waste data to establish meaningful reduction targets. Benchmarking demonstrates that formal waste audits, standardized signage, procurement alignment, and staff training can rapidly increase diversion while reducing operational complexity. District coordination magnifies these benefits. 

District-Level Opportunities 

The EcoDistrict framework revealed shared challenges that are best addressed collaboratively: 

  • Coordinated emergency preparedness and utility outage response 
  • Shared training, templates, and playbooks for climate events 
  • Joint landscape and stormwater strategies that protect multiple campuses 
  • Aligned signage, wayfinding, and waste systems to improve public understanding 
  • Common measurement standards for energy, carbon, health, and resilience 

These actions reduce duplication, improve outcomes, and position the district as a living laboratory for climate-smart cultural stewardship. 

Recommended Priorities 

Across all lenses, the project identifies a clear and pragmatic sequence of action: 

  1. Tighten buildings and keep water out 
    Prioritize air sealing, drainage, flashing, and moisture control. These measures offer high impact, low regret, and rapid payback. 
  2. Align envelope upgrades with capital cycles 
    Bundle glazing, roof, and foundation improvements with planned renewals to maximize value and minimize disruption. 
  3. Use envelope performance to enable deep decarbonization 
    Reduce loads first, then pursue electrification, optimized plant strategies, and clean power procurement. 
  4. Treat landscapes as climate infrastructure 
    Invest in drainage correction, canopy succession, turf reduction, and soil health to protect buildings and sequester carbon. 
  5. Measure what matters and repeat it 
    Adopt consistent metrics for energy, carbon, health, waste, and climate risk so progress can be tracked, shared, and improved over time. 

Lessons for Libraries 

Libraries share a distinct set of climate vulnerabilities that shape how resilience and decarbonization strategies should be prioritized. 

Primary risks concentrate around environmental stability, access, and operational continuity. 

Libraries often house sensitive collections alongside staff workspaces and public reading rooms that demand consistent temperature, humidity, lighting, and acoustic conditions. Power outages, moisture intrusion, and envelope leakage quickly compromise both collections and daily operations. 

Envelope improvements offer outsized benefit relative to cost.

 For libraries, improving airtightness, glazing performance, and foundation moisture control consistently delivers strong returns. These measures stabilize interior conditions, reduce HVAC stress, and improve occupant comfort even when energy savings alone appear modest. 

Landscape and drainage conditions directly affect building performance. 

Foundation-adjacent drainage failures, soil settlement, and irrigation overspray frequently appear as building issues when they originate in the landscape. Libraries benefit from treating grounds as part of the building system, not as separate amenities. 

Accessibility and wellbeing improvements are closely linked to climate resilience. 

Thermal consistency, glare control, wayfinding clarity, and outdoor comfort all improve with better envelope and landscape performance. For libraries, ADA planning and climate adaptation should be coordinated rather than sequenced independently. 

Libraries can serve as pilots for district-wide practices. 

Because many library functions are predictable and program-based, they offer ideal test environments for waste audits, event protocols, indoor environment monitoring, and resilience playbooks that can later scale across a district. 

Lessons for Museums 

Museums face a different but equally rigorous set of climate challenges, driven by conservation requirements, public engagement, and campus-scale operations. 

Environmental tolerances are narrow and risk thresholds are low. 

Museums operate with precise temperature and humidity limits for collections. Envelope leakage, mechanical strain during extremes, and moisture intrusion pose immediate conservation risks even when human comfort impacts appear minor. 

Envelope stability supports conservation, not just efficiency. 

For museums, envelope improvements are less about energy reduction alone and more about slowing environmental drift during outages, reducing condensation risk, and maintaining stable microclimates at perimeter galleries and storage areas. 

Central utility strategies dominate carbon outcomes. 

Museums often have high energy intensities due to lighting, environmental control, and large volumes. While envelope improvements are essential, deep decarbonization depends on plant optimization, electrification, thermal storage, and clean power procurement enabled by reduced loads. 

Landscape systems influence both preservation and public experience. 

Drainage, canopy cover, and microclimate conditions affect foundation moisture, HVAC loads, visitor comfort, and outdoor circulation. Museums benefit from landscape strategies that support conservation while enhancing the visitor journey. 

District coordination amplifies institutional leadership. 

Museums are highly visible civic anchors. Participating in shared EcoDistrict strategies for resilience, energy, waste, and health reinforces public leadership while reducing isolated risk and duplicated effort. 

A Scalable Model 

Although grounded in the specific conditions of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and Linda Hall Library, the KC Cultural EcoDistrict framework is intentionally transferable. It is designed to support historic and non-historic institutions, campuses with phased capital planning, and organizations balancing preservation with climate action. 

By focusing on methods, metrics, and sequencing rather than one-off projects, the KC Civic EcoDistrict offers a practical model for protecting cultural institutions and the humanities in a changing climate.