Architect Moshe Safdie Uplifts the Skyline and Spirit of Kansas City

As Jeffrey Brown reports on Friday's PBS NewsHour broadcast, Kansas City recently celebrated the opening of the [Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts](http://www.kauffmancenter.org). The grand, $326 million center will serve as the performing home for the [Kansas City Ballet,](http://kcballet.org) the [Kansas City Symphony](http://www.kcsymphony.org) and [Lyric Opera](http://www.kcopera.org). The two concert halls are united by a multi-tiered lobby with a dramatic glass wall that provides sweeping views of the city. On opening night, the [Canadian Brass](http://www.canadianbrass.com) performed a fanfare composed specifically for the event. Here is that piece, along with scenes of the new building.
The architect of the Kauffman Center, [Moshe Safdie](http://www.msafdie.com), has three other major projects opening this fall, including the [U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C.](http://www.usip.org), Alice Walton's [Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas](http://crystalbridges.org) and the Khalsa Heritage Centre in Punjab, India. Safdie spoke to Jeffrey Brown about the moral purpose of architecture and the need for a building to reflect the cultural essence of its location.