What do you gain by hiring an architect to design your home?

Home under construction, January 2014. Photo courtesy of the Trenkle family.

This past weekend, the Nebraska Builders Home and Garden show was held at the Lancaster Event Center in Lincoln. AIA Lincoln had a booth at the show and talked with many people about the benefits of hiring an architect to design your home.

Many people neglect to consider this option when they make the decision to build or to buy a newly constructed home, and immediately jump to looking through a builder’s standard set of plans. What you may not know is how much you stand to gain by hiring an architect for such an important project in your life. This website has a page dedicated to “The benefits of hiring an AIA architect to design your home,” so these are not new ideas, but maybe just a new way to think about this issue.

So, why should you hire an architect? Continue reading →

Nebraska’s Capitol in the news

by Jenni Felton

If you read the Lincoln Journal Star newspaper, you may have caught the article in the Sunday, January 12 edition showcasing some beautiful photos of the Nebraska State Capitol building. The article, entitled “Look up: Inside Nebraska’s stately statehouse” was written by Kathryn Cates Moore. It lists some of the favorite details in the building of Roxanne Smith, tourism supervisor in the Office of the Capitol Commission, along with the photos.

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Celebrating Bryce Hastings, AFN Past-President

by Jenni Felton

Bryce Hastings, AIA

Bryce Hastings receiving his award in recognition of his extraordinary services, October 2013

The Architectural Foundation of Nebraska was organized in 1981, but experienced a period of decreased activity in recent years. Bryce Hastings, AIA, is responsible for reviving the Architectural Foundation of Nebraska and helping to shape what it is today. After five years he is stepping down to spend more time with family and friends, and hopefully, more time relaxing!

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Awesome Architecture at Bright Lights

by Donovan Beery

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.”

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Has Anybody Here Designed a State Capitol?

by Bryce Hastings

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 →