Confluence is a professional consulting firm comprised of landscape architects and planners. The firm's work includes a wide range of public, educational, institutional and private sector projects. The firm brings the skills of landscape architecture, land planning and urban design to each project. Founded in 1998, Confluence is based in Des Moines, Iowa but has expanded to a network of five offices throughout the Midwest: Kansas City, Missouri; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Minneapolis. Confluence employs a staff of 43, which includes 23 licensed landscape architects. The firm has nine principals, one associate principal and three associates.

Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Survivors Park Renovation, Kansas City, Missouri
Situated on the west edge of the historic Country Club Plaza, this park was the first in a series of similar installations throughout the United States. The parks focus is on helping cancer patients people cope with their condition. The space is contemplative and inspirational. The design goal of the park renovation was to create an open and inviting environment. A colorful and monumental new sculpture anchors the northern end of the park, serving as an iconic element that draws people to enter and further explore the park. A series of plazas and spaces are provided along a "positive mental attitude" walkway, which weaves a path through the new park and offers education, inspiration and encouragement to those experiencing the impacts of cancer. The visual character is further enhanced at night through the use of dramatic aesthetic lighting. Confluence led this renovation, which has energized the west side of the Country Club Plaza and provides a renewed sense of hope to its many visitors.

South Dakota State University: McCrory Gardens, Brookings, South Dakota
The design of the Visitor Center at SDSU's McCrory Gardens incorporates sustainable designs and sensitivity to the existing gardens, while providing for potential future building expansion. The design included pedestrian access, parking lot design, a landscape buffer from the adjacent retail stores, and preserving service access to the existing garden maintenance facility.

 

Olathe Community Center, Olathe, Kansas
Confluence led the site planning and design of landscape architectural components for a new community center located within Stagecoach Park. The community center includes indoor aquatics, a gymnasium, fitness area, wellness center, several community rooms, catering kitchen and child play areas. Site features will include ample parking, pedestrian trail connections, adventure playground, spray ground with adjacent patio spaces and interpretive park areas. Extensive design and planning efforts were undertaken to properly nestle the facility and related site improvements into the existing passive park's rolling terrain, mature trees and water features.

Phillips Avenue, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Over the years, Phillips Avenue in downtown Sioux Falls was transformed from a nonmotorized pedestrian mall of the 1970s to a thriving commercial center with shopping, loft living, restaurants and new businesses. The city contracted Confluence for streetscape planning and design. Streetscape amenities including pedestrian scaled lighting, seating, kiosks and planters. The design incorporated curb "bump outs" to expand the sidewalk and accommodate outdoor dining, events and additional pedestrian amenities, while preserving the street parking spaces. Signage and street light banners provide wayfinding, corridor branding and opportunities to promote community events. Downtown Sioux Falls is also host to SculptureWalk, an exciting rotating exhibit of outdoor sculptures displayed year-round. Locations for these sculptures were integrated into the streetscape design. Local quartzite stone was used for the sculpture bases and seatwalls.

Downtown River Greenway, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
The goal of the greenway is to increase pedestrian access to the Sioux River and enhance the riverfront by adding trails, public amenities, an amphitheater and plazas. The project creates an urban river walk on the east bank of the Big Sioux River. The focal point is an amphitheater. The stage is defined by an arching stone wall that projects into the river and is flanked on both sides by a stepped river edge to allow easy access to the water and an informal sitting area. Interpretive light piers include panels to educate users about the history of downtown and the river. A new 200-foot single span pedestrian bridge replaced an old railroad bridge. Access to the bike trail was improved, and a canoe and kayak launch added per community request. Quartzite stone was used to construct the center amphitheater and incorporated as an accent throughout the project.

Corporate Campus (Client: Confidential), West Des Moines, Iowa
Confluence led the site master planning and design for this corporate campus. Amenity spaces in the central park space include a dining garden and terrace, an outdoor amphitheater, a lawn space for recreation or tented activities, a riparian garden and upland savannah garden. All of these spaces are connected by a pedestrian path system. Bioswales, adjacent to the loop road and between the parking lots, allow stormwater runoff to percolate back into the soils and convey water to the site's seven water bodies. Visitors are greeted by a pastoral landscape edge, punctuated by a highly ordered entry boulevard. There's a formal entry court, and courtyards at every building.