Monthly Archives: October 2013

Awesome Architecture at Bright Lights

by

Awesome Architecture participants, 2013 Bright Lights class

Awesome Architecture participants, 2013 Bright Lights class

The curriculum for Bright Lights Summer Learning Adventures program “Awesome Architecture” is an outline of bridges, domes, tunnels, dams and skyscrapers taught by Nancy Hove-Graul AIA.

“We watch a 10-minute condensed video of MacCauley’s Building Big (from PBS) that outlines the forces and principles of each structure” says Hove-Graul. “Then, as a class we act out those forces. With domes, it is always fun to get the kids in a circle and press on each other without falling down. We try to expand the circumference of the footprint as far as we can and the kids realize the little circle at the top is the most important part of the dome.”

Continue reading

Has Anybody Here Designed a State Capitol?

by

Did any of the ten architectural teams competing in the 1920 design competition for the Nebraska State Capitol have previous experience in the design of a State Capitol?

McKim, Mead & White Architects of New York had designed the Rhode Island State House in Providence, Rhode Island that was constructed from 1895–1904. McKim, Mead & White was one of the most prestigious and internationally recognized architectural firms of this era. The firm was a major training ground for other prominent architects of the period. Continue reading

Nebraska’s State Capitol – Build Us a Tower

by

750px-Nebraska_State_Capitol_Highsmith

Nebraska State Capitol

The Nebraska State Capitol, constructed in Lincoln from 1922 to 1932, is not the only State Capitol that has a tower that provides functional office space as a centerpiece rather than an empty-spaced dome. The development of high-strength steel structural shapes and the invention of the elevator in the late19th century made the high-rise office tower possible. The Nebraska State Capitol 13-story tower rises 400’ above the ground.

Continue reading