2019 AIA Nebraska Design Awards
EXCELLENCE IN MASONRY
CITATION

PROJECT NAME  Strauss Performing Arts Center

PROJECT LOCATION  Omaha, Nebraska

OWNER  University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) School of Music

FIRM  HDR

PHOTOGRAPHER  Dan Schwalm

Forty-five years after the initial project the addition completes the plan horizontally and breaks into the sky vertically with a four story structure. A simple volume modulated by internal function, quietly relates to the surrounding structures by datum, proportion and composition.

Jury Comments: The architectural massing elevates volumetrically; the masonry is lifted in a playful move that contradiction the typical weighty expression of brick. The auditorium space is modest but capitalizes on the views through past the performance stage and again, using masonry in an unexpected say to create interest and acoustical variation within the space.