The Union Rescue Mission is in the business of transforming the lives of homeless men in the Wichita, KS area.  In addition to meeting the immediate need of food and shelter for these men, The URM encourages them to take part in their programs designed to help them change their life circumstances long term.

The URM saw a need to provide short term housing for those who have completed the educational part of the program and are in the transitional phase of having a home again.  This project provides such housing as well as some administrative functions for the URM.

The project was completed in March 2019.

Visit the Union Rescue Mission website for more information on their programs or to donate to their mission.

Learn more about the project at KAKE TV and KWCH TV.

SEDGWICK COUNTY, KANSAS

These “empty nesters”, living in the multi-generational family farm house, had a desire to enhance their back yard with several improvements.  Their desire was to prepare a phased master plan in order to develop the improvements over time.  The first phase includes a new patio with fire pit and hot tub.  The second phase incorporates a pool house.  The lower level of the pool house serves as a guest house while the upper level functions as a home office and provides additional sleeping space for larger family gatherings.  These first two phases were completed in 2012.  The final phase involved the installation of a swimming pool in 2013.

PRATT, KANSAS

Cummins Country Care is a residential facility designed to create a more home-like setting for the elderly who need some assistance with daily living tasks.  Cummins Country Care is registered as a Home Plus facility through the Kansas Department on Aging.  This facility is located in a newly developed neighborhood on the edge of Pratt, Kansas.  It accommodates eight clients with four single twin bed sleeping rooms and two double twin bed sleeping rooms.  A common living room and dining room is provided.  Construction was completed in the Spring of 2014.

The homeowners are a young family with small children who wanted to develop a master plan for the improvements in their back yard.  The budget encouraged constructing the master plan in phases over time.  Phase I involves a large patio adjacent to the house which will promote more outdoor family activities and allow the family to host social events.  Phase II would include the swimming pool and adjacent sunning deck.  This phase might be postponed for a few years until the children reach a more suitable age for enjoying the pool.  Phase III calls for a more private lower patio just north of the pool.  The images shown here depict the entire master plan.

WICHITA, KANSAS

A homeowner had recently purchased this property in the College Hill area of Wichita.  The property was in  need of a new garage structure as the original was poorly constructed and in disrepair.  In addition, the homeowner had a desire to develop outdoor living space associated with the garage project.  A new multi-level patio area was incorporated, including a new wood framed shade structure tying the house and garage together.  A new, enlarged second story deck was designed to provide a covered lower patio area to accommodate grilling functions.  A new wood fence featuring masonry piers and wrought iron drive gate was also included. 

WICHITA, KANSAS

This family entertains guests at their home on a wide variety of occasions and they had a desire to host many functions outdoors when the weather permits.  Although they had a nice existing pond feature which was worthy of salvaging, much of the back yard was due for an upgrade.  The resulting design accentuates the axis from the back door to the pond location with the new fire pit placement and paving material selection.  All the materials used in the design can already be found on the site.  The brick pavers match the veneer on the house, the accent brick pavers match the accent brick on the house and the limestone is present in various retaining walls around the site.

WICHITA, KANSAS

This family enjoys the amenities of their current neighborhood, but their young family was beginning to outgrow their small house.  The project involves adding a wing onto the back of the house.  The basement portion of the addition provides two children’s bedrooms, an office space and a large storage / laundry area.  The first floor addition provides a Great Room to accommodate a wide range of family activities.  A large two-level deck is attached to the Great Room overlooking the spacious back yard.  The Kitchen is also expanded in the plan.  This addition nearly doubles the living space for this family which will now be more comfortable in familiar surroundings.  

SEDGWICK COUNTY, KANSAS

This is a young family with children who wanted to create a master plan for their back yard.  They enjoy hosting gatherings of family and friends and while they have a large deck, they saw a need to enhance their amenities for these gatherings.  A large patio of concrete pavers was designed to increase the area for outdoor gatherings.  The patio incorporates a fire pit at its northeast edge.  A masonry seat wall surrounds the fire pit.  A paved walk connects the patio to the existing driveway from the fire pit area. A swimming pool is incorporated beyond the patio and is separated from the patio with plantings.  A row of evergreen trees provides a backdrop for the pool area.

SUMNER COUNTY, KANSAS

ANDOVER, KANSAS

This family enjoys their location on the edge of town, but their small house was in need of an upgrade to satisfy their desires for the future.  The project involves a Living Room addition, a Master Bedroom addition and a large Deck addition.  The Living Room addition doubles the size of the room and includes a vaulted ceiling and double sided fireplace.  The Master Bedroom addition increases its space by 50% and also includes a vaulted ceiling.  The wrap around Deck connects to the living and sleeping areas, tying them together with this outdoor living space. It includes a hot tub for relaxing after a long day and a shade structure for gathering, lounging and grilling.