Touring the Yellow Brick Road -- Kansas City NOMA Conference 2025
Just as Dorothy and her eclectic band of travel companions ventured down the yellow brick road to the Emerald City, a few select members of the design team for the 2025 Barbara G. Laurie NOMAS Student Design Competition ventured from the coastal city of Vancouver, BC, to the historic yet active Kansas City, Missouri.
Flying in on a red-eye flight to our 10-hour transfer in Las Vegas from Vancouver, we wandered around the sleepless city, drinking in the neon lights and theatrical sights of the Vegas Strip, Learning from Las Vegas as we strolled between a miniature New York City, a larger-than-life rendition of King Arthur's castle, and the glowing Arc de Triomphe guarding the entrance to a hotel where the sky always looks blue.
Not long after, we landed in Missouri, the city of barbecue and jazz music, the hometown of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Just after settling into our hotel, we entered the Sheraton with eyes bright and our model built from stored pieces in our combined carry-on suitcases, alongside hundreds of other designers, students, and industry professionals. The lecture hall resounded with the energy of excited fellow competitors across North America at the kick-off meeting.
It was not long until it was time for us to present our project, LAMINA, to the world. Since May, we had toiled for months, working on various software across ZOOM, navigating time differences, iterating and designing a multigenerational solution to a site historically fractured by the I-70 highway construction and racialised redlining policies.
The next few days were filled with exciting events for the student competitors and industry professionals alike. From a fun and energetic atmosphere post-presentation day in the Science Museum at the Union Station to various industry lectures and workshops throughout the Sheraton about VR visualisation methods, sustainable materials, diversity and inclusion design strategy frameworks and more.
This included many other social networking opportunities like the Industry Expo booths hosted by various universities and design firms, a brief champagne evening at the Kauffman Centre for the Performing Arts, as well as a final masquerade party night at the Sheraton after the awards ceremony, where we bid our farewells to our newfound friends during this multi-day conference!
Between the friendly train conductors, jazzy restaurants, and cosy weekend farmer's markets, our time in the city was well treasured and enjoyed. We want to thank everyone who made this project and trip possible, from the entire design team that worked hard to make this project come to life, to the UBC SALA community for their support towards inclusivity-oriented design education and opportunities.
Interested in learning more? See more about this project here!
Don't forget to keep a lookout for future competition registrations, and attend our lecture series and volunteer network events during the school year!
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