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Kauffman Center's Opening Approaches; Checking in with Architect Moshe Safdie

Architect Moshe Safdie in the offices at JE Dunn, Kansas City, Mo.
photo: Laura Spencer/KCUR
Architect Moshe Safdie in the offices at JE Dunn, Kansas City, Mo.

It's three months until the $413 million Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Kansas City, Missouri opens to the public. When architect Moshe Safdie revealed his designs about a decade ago, it was the largest project of his career. But, Safdie now has offices in Toronto, Boston, and Singapore, and the Safdie-designed $5.5 billion Marina Bay Sands project in Singapore opened earlier this year.

By Laura Spencer

Kansas City, Mo. – The architect stopped by the Kauffman Center last week to check lighting, construction, and listen to a Kansas City Symphony rehearsal in Helzberg Hall. Safdie told KCUR's Laura Spencer there's an intensity to this stage of the project as the deadline approaches.

The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts opens September 16, 2011.

Kansas City is known for its style of jazz, influenced by the blues, as the home of Walt Disney’s first animation studio and the headquarters of Hallmark Cards. As one of KCUR’s arts reporters, I want people here to know a wide range of arts and culture stories from across the metropolitan area. I take listeners behind the scenes and introduce them to emerging artists and organizations, as well as keep up with established institutions. Send me an email at lauras@kcur.org or follow me on Twitter @lauraspencer.
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