Located on a prominent height 3 miles (4.8 km) south of downtown Kansas City, the 280 feet (85 m) building is uniquely visible.

The building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill with steel-frame construction and clad in a contrasting grid of deeply inset black glass and white marble.

[2] Designed by SOM project manager Bruce Graham, who later was lead architect for the John Hancock Center and the Willis Tower, the BMA tower is completely devoid of ornament, using only the contrast between the white cladding on the columns and beams with the black glazing as expression.

Even more than the upper-floor windows, the ground floor is deeply inset, with glass surrounding just the central building core to function as a lobby.

As a result of extensive investigation, the panels were replaced with neoparium, a glass product that appeared indistinguishable from marble at more than 100 feet (30 m).