Building the future means exploring every material—and pushing each one further.
At the College of Architecture, students and faculty are pushing the boundaries of design, fabrication and construction through cutting-edge mass timber research. Using cross-laminated timber (CLT), an engineered wood product transforming the future of building, our college is exploring new possibilities in sustainable, high-performance architecture.
In partnership with Timberlyne, a mass timber facility in Nebraska, we’re turning research into real-world innovation—giving students hands-on experience with one of the fastest-evolving materials in the industry.
The future of building is being made here. 🌲
Delighted to have received an Architects Newspaper (AN) "Best of 2025 Award" in collaboration with Jeff Day/ FACT / Actual Architecture for the Art Chapel. As always, our thanks go to all the students at UNL COA and our clients at the F St Church f.#unlarch #makefact #actualarchitecture #architectureawards #architectsnewspaper
@archpaper.com
/2025/12/winners-2025-best-of-design-awards/
Delighted to be awarded a SARA award in collaboration with Jeff Day/ FACT for the Art Chapel. Our thanks go to all the students at UNL who worked on this and the College and the F St Church for their amazing support.#unlarch #makefact #actualarchitecture
Delighted to receive the AIA Nebraska Architectural | Design Education Award.
https://ow.ly/PiO250WQtA4
The 2025 AIA Nebraska Honors and Awards will be presented at the AIA NE Excellence in Design Gala on November 18, 2025, at the @joslynartmuseum in Omaha.
As part of a proud land-grant tradition and UNL’s unwavering commitment to serving Nebraska, our students, faculty, and staff are applying their creativity and expertise to address real-world challenges across the state —applying their skills in ways that make a lasting difference. In urban areas, they are designing community spaces like the F Street Church Art Chapel which opened this year. Check out this amazing video detailing our engagement work in Lincoln and beyond.
Share this video with others if you agree or share your own experience about how the college has positively impacted your life or community.
Also be sure to explore our recent community projects that stretch across the state:
Community Collaboration Stories:
https://architecture.unl.edu/.../happening-here-every-day/
Community Impact Map:
https://architecture.unl.edu/culture/community-projects/.
@plain_design_build
As part of a proud land-grant tradition and UNL’s unwavering commitment to serving Nebraska, our students, faculty, and staff are applying their creativity and expertise to address real-world challenges across the state —applying their skills in ways that make a lasting difference. In urban areas, they are designing community spaces like the F Street Church Art Chapel which opened this year. Check out this amazing video detailing our engagement work in Lincoln and beyond.
Share this video with others if you agree or share your own experience about how the college has positively impacted your life or community.
Also be sure to explore our recent community projects that stretch across the state:
Community Collaboration Stories:
https://architecture.unl.edu/.../happening-here-every-day/
Community Impact Map:
https://architecture.unl.edu/culture/community-projects/.
@plain_design_build
Here are some additional links to the Art Chapel Coverage
Channel 8 News
/the-art-chapel-unl-architecture-students-redesign-152-year-old-lincoln-church/
/watch?v=5vifRvspli8
Journal Star
/news/local/article_e8a814ce-140c-4055-936f-dda586909faa.html#tracking-source=home-top-story
Video by Journal Star
/watch?v=gFVwlJfcjqY
1011 News
UNL students help transform a historic Lincoln church into Art Chapel
/watch?v=NHC_YXabgv0
Be sure to check out these media features of our latest designbuild project where Huskers partner with a Lincoln church to create a community arts center!
Making a positive impact in our community, College of Architecture students have transformed a 150-year-old chapel at the F Street Church into a vibrant community arts center, drawing neighbors in for class, exhibitions and shared creative experiences.
The Art Chapel, at 1302 F St. is now open following a major renovation. Students from the college and its FACT and Plain Design-Build studios led by faculty Jeffrey L. Day and Jason Griffiths, respectively, designed and constructed the remodeled space in collaboration with Crounse Construction, Nebraska Innovation Studio and volunteers from the F Street Neighborhood Church.
Stories can be found starting today on KLKN – Channel 8, KOLN-1011 News, KETV – Channel 7, the Journal Star and affiliate outlets. See below:
Channel 8 News
/the-art-chapel-unl-architecture-students-redesign-152-year-old-lincoln-church/
/watch?v=5vifRvspli8
Journal Star
/news/local/article_e8a814ce-140c-4055-936f-dda586909faa.html#tracking-source=home-top-story
Video by Journal Star
/watch?v=gFVwlJfcjqY
1011 News
UNL students help transform a historic Lincoln church into Art Chapel
/watch?v=NHC_YXabgv0
Be sure to tune in to the news tonight as local media highlights one of our designbuild projects where Huskers partner with a Lincoln church to create a community arts center!
Making a positive impact in our community, College of Architecture students have transformed a 150-year-old chapel at the F Street Church into a vibrant community arts center, drawing neighbors in for class, exhibitions and shared creative experiences.
The Art Chapel, at 1302 F St. is now open following a major renovation. Students from the college and its FACT and Plain Design-Build studios led by faculty Jeffrey L. Day and Jason Griffiths, respectively, designed and constructed the remodeled space in collaboration with Crounse Construction, Nebraska Innovation Studio and volunteers from the F Street Neighborhood Church.
Stories can be found starting today on KLKN – Channel 8, KOLN-1011 News, KETV – Channel 7, the Journal Star and affiliate outlets.
The Art Chapel is complete, and we just got wonderful photos from the talented @walkerpickering
The Art Chapel is a PLAIN–FACT collaboration to convert a 19th-century single-room chapel into an art studio for the South Downtown neighbourhood of Lincoln. The new facility provides a space for art therapy programs run by the F Street Neighborhood Church. This program offers an inspiring and hopeful vision for a community with high incidences of homelessness, crime, and substance abuse disorder. We owe special thanks to Jean Stryker and Jeff Heerspink for their tireless commitment to this project.
The architectural project explores architecture’s ability to disarm viewers through apparent simplicity. Our approach acknowledges the original building’s functional simplicity in a way that reevaluates “minimalism” in architecture. We describe this approach as the “build nothing” ethic of adaptive reuse. This is represented in all the design solutions, especially the rolling wall that “subtracts” a portion of the front façade, offering the interior as a public space that welcomes everyone.
Art Chapel is a #plainfact a collaborative project with teams from @makefact and @plain_design_build with @fstreetchurch@actual.ac the @nis_makers Crounse Construction @drewjohnson1981 and others.
.
#factwork @unlarchitecture@aianebraska
actual.ac
#artchapellincoln
#actualarchitecture #nebraskainnovationstudio #fstreetartchurch #theartchapel #nebraskaarchitecture
#designbuildstudio #architecturestudio #architectureschool #postminimal #notminimalist #offmodern #digitalhandmade #studentdesignbuild #imadethat #designandmake #designcollaboration #designschool #studyarchitecture #artarchitecture #strangedetails #makenothing
#wip #koozarch #thebna
The Art Chapel is complete, and we just got wonderful photos from the talented @walkerpickering
The Art Chapel is a PLAIN–FACT collaboration to convert a 19th-century single-room chapel into an art studio for the South Downtown neighbourhood of Lincoln. The new facility provides a space for art therapy programs run by the F Street Neighborhood Church. This program offers an inspiring and hopeful vision for a community with high incidences of homelessness, crime, and substance abuse disorder. We owe special thanks to Jean Stryker and Jeff Heerspink for their tireless commitment to this project.
The architectural project explores architecture’s ability to disarm viewers through apparent simplicity. Our approach acknowledges the original building’s functional simplicity in a way that reevaluates “minimalism” in architecture. We describe this approach as the “build nothing” ethic of adaptive reuse. This is represented in all the design solutions, especially the rolling wall that “subtracts” a portion of the front façade, offering the interior as a public space that welcomes everyone.
Art Chapel is a #plainfact a collaborative project with teams from @makefact and @plain_design_build with @fstreetchurch@actual.ac the @nis_makers Crounse Construction @drewjohnson1981 and others.
.
#factwork @unlarchitecture@aianebraska
actual.ac
#artchapellincoln
#actualarchitecture #nebraskainnovationstudio #fstreetartchurch #theartchapel #nebraskaarchitecture
#designbuildstudio #architecturestudio #architectureschool #postminimal #notminimalist #offmodern #digitalhandmade #studentdesignbuild #imadethat #designandmake #designcollaboration #designschool #studyarchitecture #artarchitecture #strangedetails #makenothing
#wip #koozarch #thebna
