GPC 2013 Award Winners

Honor Awards

404 Rooftop | Downtown Fargo, ND
Designed by Land Elements | Fargo, ND
(Design Built Category)

Project Purpose:

The rooftop design was an expansion of the home for our client. By creating an outdoor room, our team added an additional 612 sq. ft. of usable space to the family’s existing condo, making an “unusable” space usable. This space provides comfort for 2 to 20 people. By pulling interior design features to the exterior, a cohesive flow was achieved between the interior and exterior of the unit. The expression of the homeowner and the heritage of the Great Plains can be seen throughout.

Revitalizing the Academic Core | Lincoln, NE
Designed by Aaron Gall, Sarah Hitchcock and Sal Lindquist | University of Nebraska-Lincoln
(Student Design Unbuilt Category)

Project Purpose:

  • Innovative strategies to accommodate building growth and open space integrity for an urban campus.
  • Interdisciplinary collaboration between architecture and landscape architecture to establish reciprocal indoor and outdoor learning environments.

Merit Awards

The Papillion First Street Plaza | Papillion, NE
Designed by RDG | Omaha, NE
(Design Built Category)

Project Purpose:

  • Transform a seldom-used parking lot into the center of life and activity for Downtown Papillion
  • Create a dynamic and multifaceted place for outdoor community events
  • Activate the north side of the West Papio Creek and promote a walkable community

Main Street Square Urban Redevelopment Block | Rapid City, SD
Designed by FourFront Design | Rapid City, SD
(Design Built Category)

Project Purpose:

  • To create a cultural centerpiece of the Downtown Rapid City brand, and act as a polestar from which to showcase the city’s stunning architecture, vibrant arts community, exceptional eateries, and exciting nightlife.
  • Develop the block with materials that reflect its urban setting and unique geographical location within the Black Hills and Badlands region.
  • Create alluring art and seasonal activities that will encourage interaction of its visitors and inspire people to return again and again.

The Landscape Lab | Brookings, SD
Designed by Dr. Matt James, SDSU | Brookings, SD
(Design Unbuilt Category)

Project Purpose:

The Landscape Lab, a project produced by a faculty and student design team, is an experiment in green infrastructure solutions for our campus landscape. The purpose is meant to expose the campus community to sustainable landscape solutions primarily focused on efficient rain water management and naturalized plantings. Using the campus as a living laboratory, our solutions demonstrate how managing stormwater at its source can benefit the campus landscape and the overall environment.

The La Vista Civic Center Park Master Plan | La Vista, NE
Designed by RDG | Omaha, NE
(Planning & Analysis Category)

Project Purpose:

  • Develop a master plan for the 56-acre Park to meet the recreation needs of the community and provide restored ecological zones within the Park for passive recreation, interpretation, and educational opportunities
  • Spur future development activities along the decaying 84th Street corridor
  • Balance the needs of the community while improving the stormwater quality and reducing the stormwater quantity along Thompson Creek

South Kansas Avenue Streetscape Master Plan | Topeka, KS
Designed by RDG | Omaha, NE
(Planning & Analysis Category)

Project Purpose:

  • Revitalize the energy and spur redevelopment in downtown Topeka
  • Update the aging utilities and add new technology lines to ensure downtown Topeka is a leader in the 21st century. Provide a consistent and cohesive streetscape image for the City of Topeka.
  • Market both the state of Kansas and the City of Topeka to the thousands of visitors downtown Topeka receives each year.

Economic Framework for Feature Selection in Healing Garden | Omaha, NE
Designed by HDR of Omaha, NE and the University of Nebraska in Lincoln
(Research Category)

Project Purpose:

  • To develop an economic framework based on Benefits-to-Cost analysis for feature selection that can be used to design Healing Gardens.
  • To showcase a real-world case study to highlight the implementation of the proposed methodology. The case study used the Healing Garden at Methodist Women’s Hospital as the test site. This site was specifically selected because it contains various design features as prescribed by the theory of supportive design (Ulrich, Chapter 2, Marcus and Barnes, 1999).
  • To explore the bias of the designer, and contrast it against the proposed economic framework.

President’s Award of Excellence

14th Street, Warlick Blvd, Old Cheney Road Intersection Improvements | Lincoln, NE
Designed by RDG | Omaha, NE
(Design Unbuilt Category)

Project Purpose: 

  • Create a memorable gateway into Southwest Lincoln
  • Improve pedestrian and bicycle connections within the project and surrounding areas
  • Apply sustainable principles to the roundabout design