2025 AIA Nebraska Mid-Year Symposium

Thursday, April 24, 2025

8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Younes Conference Center North | 707 Talmadge St, Kearney, NE 68845

The AIA Nebraska Mid-Year Symposium provides education, training, and assistance for the betterment of architecture and planning across the State of Nebraska.

Registration: Deadline for registration is April 17, 2025. Registration fees are non-refundable after April 24, 2025. Attendee Registration below | Exhibitor Registration

Prize Giveaway: Exhibitors will be collecting business cards from attendees for visiting their booths. Make sure you bring enough to share and register to win various prizes.

Questions: Contact Tyler Patterson, Marketing & Programming Coordinator at [email protected] or (402) 858-1929.

(Tentative schedule, subject to change. Continuing education credits pending.)

Thursday, April 24, 2025

7:00 am - 8:00 am | Exhibitor Setup

8:00 am - 9:00 am | Registration | Exhibitor Interaction | Breakfast

8:55 am | Welcome  

9:00 am - 10:00 am | Nebraska Measure 436: Ethics and Employment | Woods Aitken 

In November 2024, Nebraska voters overwhelmingly approved Initiative 436, known as the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplace Act, which mandates paid sick leave for eligible employees. The law is set to take effect on October 1, 2025.

Following its approval, the Nebraska Legislature has introduced bills aimed at refining its implementation. This discussion will cover the key provisions of Initiative 436 and the proposed legislative adjustments currently under consideration.

10:00 am - 10:30 am | Exhibitor Interaction

10:30 am - 12:00 pm | 1 HSW | OurStory: creating aging-ready housing | Jeffrey L. Day, FAIA; Jessica Scheuerman, Founding Director, Partners for Livable Omaha (to be confirmed); 2+ FACT students may take part in the presentation (to be confirmed)

A house as housing

How do we want to live as we age? OurStory is a prototype middle income aging-ready small home for Omaha that approaches affordability at the intersection of design, finance, and policy. Designed by the FACT and led by Partners for Livable Omaha, OurStory reimagines the single-family house to fill the gap in the local market for constructible and financeable design alternatives. Variations on the OurStory prototype can function as standalone small homes, accessory dwelling units to existing homes, or as part of dense cottage courts and cluster communities using community land trusts or other innovative land tenancy regimes. The all-electric, space efficient concept features design innovations including structural insulated panels (walls and roof) and prefabricated components to reduce construction time, boost building energy efficiency, and realize affordability.

In Fall 2024 FACT researched, designed, and documented the project producing documents and an exhibition for the first two variations known as Corby & Benson. In Spring 2025 FACT will complete detailed design, construction documents, permitting, and will commence off-site fabrication.

Project goals, design and construction progress images can be seen here: 

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm | Lunch + Prize Drawing 

1:15 pm - 2:15 pm TOUR TO BE CONFIRMED: Kearney Sports Complex | Transforming Prefabricated Buildings into Community Assets | RDG Planning & Design 

Beyond the building, these savings can support programming that broadens the facility’s impact. Community outreach initiatives, youth sports programs, and recreation-based classes are examples of ways redirected funds can benefit a wider audience. By striking a balance between cost-efficiency and purposeful investment, PEBs empower communities to achieve more with less and focus on building economically and socially impactful spaces. When considered holistically, the benefits of PEBs go beyond immediate savings, creating opportunities to design spaces that are accessible and enduring.

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm HARD HAT TOUR: A new rural health campus that extends the successful partnership between UNK and UNMC and is set to become a cornerstone in training the next generation of healthcare professionals | RDG Planning & Design 

In the heart of Nebraska, a revolutionary project is taking shape. The Douglas A. Kristensen Rural Health Education Complex, designed by RDG Planning & Design, is set to become a cornerstone in training the next generation of healthcare professionals. As the state grapples with a healthcare workforce shortage, particularly in rural areas, this 110,000 SF facility on the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) aims to bring health science education to rural communities rather than dispersing candidates out to urban education environments. 

3:45 pm - 4:45 pm | 1 HSW | TOUR: Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center-Kearney |  Pact Studios

Nebraska Medicine set out on a mission to provide extraordinary care to cancer patients and their families in central Nebraska.  After joining forces with Heartland Hematology and Oncology in Kearney, an expansion of services and increasing patient volumes created the need for more space.  Pact Studios led a multi-disciplinary team in the design of a new state-of-the-art cancer center to bring comprehensive cancer care closer to home for those residing in western and central Nebraska as well as those living in northern Kansas.

5:00 pm | Social (Please RSVP below)

Fyre Modern Grill | Located inside the Crowne Plaza Kearney