Thursday, September 17 | AIA Nebraska Annual Conference
Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center, 2021 Transformation Drive, Lincoln, NE 68508
Parking Information. You can download the Passport Parking app here to pay ($6.25/day) for parking.
*Schedule subject to change
Session topics may include: Mass Timber, Data Centers, Licensure, Workforce Challenges, Nebraska Economics, Building Enclosure Committee, Affordable Housing, Urban Housing, and Panel Discussions.
7:00am - 4:00pm | Registration
8:00am - 8:30am | Exhibitor Interaction
Morning Sessions
8:30 am - 9:30 am
AI-driven building performance and carbon emissions analysis with architects' responsibilities for health, safety and welfare | 1.0 hr | HSW #09.17.2026.1
Artificial intelligence is transforming how architects evaluate building performance, energy use, carbon emissions, and occupant well-being. This presentation introduces practical AI-driven approaches for analyzing building data and supporting more informed design and operational decisions. Through research and applied examples, participants will examine how machine learning, computer vision, and explainable AI can identify performance patterns, evaluate environmental conditions, and communicate results to design teams and stakeholders. The course will pay particular attention to the responsible use of AI for occupant health, improving resilience, and supporting public welfare through energy-efficient, low-carbon design. The course is intended for architects and design professionals, and no prior AI or programming experience is required.
Presenter: Tian Li, Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska, College of Architecture
Building the Good Life: Financing, Designing, and Delivering |1.0 hr | LU #09.17.2026.2 -This course will explore financing tools that support community development, redevelopment, and public improvements in Nebraska. Presenters will discuss Community Improvement Districts and Good Life Districts, including how these tools can finance infrastructure and support new development. The course will also examine the use of tax increment financing and historic tax credits to help make development and redevelopment projects financially feasible. Participants will gain an understanding of how these financing mechanisms work, how they are established and applied, and how they can influence project feasibility, development costs, community growth, and investment.
Moderator: Daniel Siedhoff, AIA, cadre-arch. Panelists: Adam Flanagan, Managing Director & Co-Owner, Bluestem Capital Partners; J.P. Platisha, Managing Director & Co-Owner, Bluestem Capital Partners; David Levy, Partner, Baird Holm; Jeff Weak, President, Emjay Consulting Company
9:30 - 10:30 am Exhibitor Interaction
10:30 - 11:30 am
Navigating Nebraska's Data Centers: Water, Energy, Infrastructure & Resiliency | 1.0 hr | HSW #09.17.2026.3
Nebraska is experiencing growing interest in data center development, bringing new opportunities as well as significant considerations for water resources, energy infrastructure, building design, and community resiliency. This panel will bring together experts from water resources, utilities, data center development, and architecture/engineering to examine how these interconnected factors influence the planning, design, and operation of data center facilities.
Moderator: Amanda Bogner, PE, BEMP, FASHRAE, VP, Consulting, Catalyst Partners Panelists: Shannon Coleman, Director, Energy Portfolio Planning, OPPD; Hunter Traynor, EVP - Legislation & Policy, NE Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Crystal Powers, Extension Educator - Water, University of Nebraska; Eric Rushenberg, PE, Data Center Project Manager, HDR
Trends in Affordable Housing: Design and Delivery Innovations that Bridge the Gap | 1.0 hr | HSW #09.17.2026.4
In the throes of a national housing crisis, Nebraska architects are stepping up to innovate solutions for communities across the state. The session will review state housing needs and emerging trends in the development and delivery of different affordable housing typologies. The session will provide a survey of emerging delivery methods that are improving assembly, resident health, and building performance before demonstrating the importance of design and sustainability considerations to the realization of genuinely affordable communities.
Presenters: Wayne Mortensen, AIA, architect-developer, Excel Development Group; Emily Andersen, founding Partner, DeOld Andersen Architecture
11:30am - 12:00pm | Exhibitor Interaction
12:00pm - 1:00pm | Box Lunch
1:00pm - 1:30pm | Membership Meeting
1:30pm - 2:00pm | Exhibitor Interaction | Prize Giveaway
Bring your business cards to enter for your chance to win some great prizes. Each exhibitor will have a container for you to drop your cards in. One prize per attendee.
AIA Nebraska will provide cash prizes to attendees that secure a signature from each exhibitor. Attendees must be present to win. One submission per person.
Best Exhibit Award - Remember to vote for the Best Exhibit. The winner will be announced during the Prize Drawing.
2:00pm - 3:00pm | Keynote Presentation: 45 Years Later: Echoes of the Kansas City Walkway Collapse | 1.0 HSW|Ethics #09.17.2026
In terms of loss of life and injuries, this was the most devastating structural collapse ever to take place in this country.” U.S. National Bureau of Standards (Feb. 1982). No, it was not the World Trade Tower or the Pentagon, nor the Surfside condo collapse, nor the Oklahoma City bombing. Years before those events, the worst structural collapse took place in Kansas City, Missouri 45 years ago, on July 17, 1981, when two suspended walkways collapsed in the Hyatt Regency hotel, killing 114 and injuring over 200 more.
Four decades later, there is still misinformation about what happened, what caused the collapse, and whether it could have been prevented. This program tells the true story - a chilling reminder of how important it is to check all details, large or small.
Presenter: G. William Quatman, FAIA, Esq., Kansas City
Afternoon Sessions
3:00 - 4:00 pm
Nebraska’s Economic Outlook: What’s Ahead for Architecture & Construction, 1.0 hr. | LU #09.17.2026.5
The presentation will examine key economic indicators, employment and population trends, interest rates, construction activity, business investment, housing and development, and other factors influencing demand for architectural services. Attendees will gain perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing Nebraska’s economy and how economic conditions may affect project planning, investment, development, and the architecture profession.
Presenter: Dr. Eric Thompson, The Karl H. Nelson Professor of Economics and the Director of the Bureau of Business Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Mass Timber in Nebraska: Design, Delivery, and Market Reality |1.0 hr | HSW #09.17.2026.6
This program will explore the design, fabrication, and construction of mass timber buildings in Nebraska, with a focus on how material selection and building systems can influence occupant health and well-being, life safety, environmental performance, and long-term building resilience. Regional professionals will share lessons learned from mass timber projects, including structural and fire-life-safety considerations, material sourcing, fabrication and erection, and strategies for optimizing mass timber in building design. The program will also examine the potential environmental benefits of mass timber, including opportunities to reduce embodied carbon, while considering how biophilic qualities and connections to natural materials can contribute to occupant wellness and indoor environmental quality.
Moderator: Jason Bahr, PE, WoodWorks - Wood Products Council. Panelists: David Penka, AIA, Senior Associate, DLR Group; Lisa Miller, President NODDLE Architecture; Thomas Rickert, Project Manager, Kiewit; Bobby Larson, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, DLR Group; Michael Ratliff, Timberlyne
4:00 - 5:00 pm
Artificial Intelligence: Legal and Ethical Considerations for Architects, 1.0 LU Ethics Pending, #09.17.2026.7
Presenter: Todd W. Weidemann, Woods Aitken Law Firm
This is why we can’t have nice things – multi-family housing – the redheaded stepchild of commercial construction | 1.0 hr | HSW Pending #09.17.2026.8
Nebraska, much like the rest of the U.S., suffers from a lack of housing, particularly affordable housing. This has led to a boom in multi-family (MF) construction across the state. These MF projects are often designed by professional architects and engineers, built by general contractors (GC), and owned by developers. Often, these projects are cash starved, with lowest “first cost” being the dominant owner’s project requirement (OPR). This leads to shorter design phases with fewer design details, construction administration services being provided by the GC instead of the architect, and, most importantly, these projects are design to “building code minimum” standards. This results in poor construction quality, defects, delays, and long-term maintenance issues. In this presentation, we will present several MF and other projects, all built in Nebraska, where the “lowest first cost” mentality led to construction defects, delays, increased construction costs, and significant finger pointing. We will demonstrate how architects can avoid these situations. We will also demonstrate a few scenarios where the adoption of modern building codes could have avoid these construction defects. We will also demonstrate how the rollback of our current codes to older codes will exacerbate these construction issues.
Presenter: AIA NE Building Enclosure Council, David Holtzclaw, Ph.D., P.E., BCxP, C.E.M, HERS Rater, Energy Star/PHIUS+ Verifier, President, Transduction Technologies
