EXTENDED USE / HONOR

Entry Name: SAC Federal Credit Union Ames Branch, Bellevue
Firm: Leo A Daly
Owner: SAC Federal Credit Union
Photographer: Matthew DeBoer

Located in a blighted, high crime area of Omaha Nebraska, the original building was a former Hollywood Video Store, abandoned for over two years. It was important to the client that the building be a beacon to help encourage growth within the community. Given the task of converting the building into a fully functional branch, the design team’s goal was straight forward: provide a functional and sustainable project that transforms the existing building beyond the little big-box. Programmatic and aesthetic decisions not only created new depth in the existing building, but also new depth within the community this building serves.

Jury Comments: One of the most difficult questions architects currently face is how to bring a sense of place to the generic shells that liter our built environment. SAC Federal Credit Union is a seminal example of how design can give a building a soul and in doing so has defined a truly sustainable way of building.