Thomas L. Findley, 2018 Harry F. Cunningham Gold Medal Recipient

Thomas L. Findley, of Omaha, is recipient of the 2018 Harry F. Cunningham Gold Medal for Architectural Excellence in the State of Nebraska. The Gold Medal is the highest honor the Nebraska Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) can bestow and is awarded in recognition of the most distinguished achievement in architecture or service to the profession of architecture in the State of Nebraska.

Nominator Jeffrey S. Monzu, AIA, LEO A DALY Vice President, said, “The LEO A DALY firm has been Tom Findley’s professional architectural life since graduate school. During that time, Tom has designed buildings and cities around the world. His passion for architecture helped give design excellence and its cultivation new emphasis and support in his firm. This, in turn, led to design innovation in all company projects, locally, nationally, and internationally.”

During his tenure as AIA Omaha President, he orchestrated the unparalleled volunteer effort of 12 local architecture firms to build the 16ft model replica of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition of 1898, commemorating the 100-year anniversary of this major milestone event for architecture in the city of Omaha.  This model now resides in a major exhibit at the Durham Museum, exciting old and young alike about the power of architectural design.

Click here to view Tom Findley’s submission.

The Gold Medal commemorates the achievements of Harry Francis Cunningham who came to Nebraska as lead architect for Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue’s office during completion of the tower phase of construction for the State Capitol following Goodhue’s death in 1924. It was Goodhue’s revolutionary building design which won the nationwide competition in 1920 for the creation of the state house in Lincoln. Cunningham subsequently established the first school of architecture at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln.