Professor Jeffrey L. Day, AIA from the University of Nebraska’s College of Architecture was among the honorees at this year’s AIA Nebraska and AIA Central States Region Design Excellence Awards Celebration held October 5th in Omaha, Nebraska. 

Day and the Omaha/ San Francisco based architectural firm Min Day were given several honors at the design gala. The team earned the following prestigious awards:

AIA Nebraska Honor Award in the Unbuilt category for “Better Place Forests”; AIA Nebraska Honor Award in the Detail category for “RebarWall – BLUEBARN Theatre”;
AIA Nebraska Merit Award in the Interior Architecture category for “FLOCK”; AIA Nebraska Merit Award in the Detail category for “Cochran Park BenchSign”; AIA Central States Region Honor Award in the Architecture category for “BLUEBARN Theatre & Boxcar 10”; and an AIA Central States Region Merit Award in the Unbuilt category for “Better Place Forests”.

Among Day’s winning submissions, the “BLUEBARN Theatre” project, a new arts hub near downtown Omaha, continues to be a juror favorite. These latest honors add to its growing list of awards including a 2016 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Nebraska Honor Award; a 2016 Merit Award for Architectural Detail from the AIA Central States Region; a 2016 International Illuminance Award, Special Citation for Outdoor Lighting Design, Illuminating Engineering Society; a 2016 AIA San Francisco Special Commendation for Urban Design; and a 2016 Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Faculty Design Award. The project was also identified by Slate as one the best American buildings of 2016.

 “A community asset – this project succeeds on many levels,” was one jury comment   regarding the “RebarWall -BLUEBARN Theatre”. “A tour de force of mixed use urbanism that packs the ambition of a masterplan into a half block.”  

However Day’s “Better Place Forests” a spreading forest visitor’s center performed equally as well this year and has strong potential for future awards.

“The strategy of framing vistas and origami like folds make for a wonderful sequence of spaces,” comment the jurors regarding the “Better Place Forest” submission. “One could imagine a series of modular places that age gracefully and become one with its context.”

“It is humbling to see our work recognized again and again by other design professionals as award worthy projects and featured by major publications such as Slate, the Architect’s Newspaper and Dezeen,” commented Day. 

The AIA Central States Region Design Excellence Awards Celebration is an annual event that recognizes outstanding regional architecture from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. The AIA Design Excellence Awards have been developed to encourage and recognize excellence in architecture, to elevate public awareness and to recognize the architects, consultants, contractors and owners whose efforts enhance the built environment. 

Entries were judged based on a variety of features, including unique design, originality, extended use attributes, sustainability and use of environmental surroundings.

More information about the awards can be found at 2017 AIA Design Awards for the AIA Nebraska winners and AIA Excellence in Design Awards for the Central States awardees.