At the September American Institute of Architects (AIA) Central States Awards Banquet, RDG Planning & Design was presented with a 2007 Excellence in Architecture Award. The award was given for the National Guard’s newly constructed North Omaha Readiness Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
October brought RDG more accolades when AIA Nebraska presented their design awards at this year’s Greening Spaces – Excellence in Design Awards Banquet on October 18, 2007.
The jury named RDG as recipient of two design awards presented at their convention in Omaha, Nebraska. The Xenon International School of Hair Design received an Honor Award for Extended Use, and Elkhorn Community Rec. Center received a Citation Award for New Construction. These projects were recognized for excellence in design out of 71 submittals made by Nebraska design firms. 7 Honor Awards, 2 Citations and 1 Honorable Mention were presented at the Banquet.

CENTRAL STATES DESIGN 2007 AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN ARCHITECTURE
TO RDG FOR NORC
The North Omaha Readiness Center (NORC) was designed for the Nebraska Army National Guard – the first of several projects RDG has designed for the Guard. (The $10M Greenlief Readiness Center in Hastings, Nebraska is currently under construction and we are completing a master plan for the Mead, Nebraska Training site.) One of the Guard’s primary objectives was to raise the quality of design for their soldiers. Providing the men and women of the Armed Forces a professional, college and university type environment for their training experience.

EXTENDED USE / HONOR
Project: Xenon International – School of Hair Design
Owner: Xenon International School of Hair Design
Firm: RDG Planning & Design
Photographer: Tom Kessler, Omaha, Nebraska
A School for Hair Design needed a new facility to accommodate a larger student population. The clients also wanted to re-define their image as a cutting edge school, able to attract the best students. The architect was charged with the overall visual look and concept behind this new design. Based on the tight construction schedule and budget the project was design-build.
Jury Comments: “This is an inventive project – just right for its purpose and students. The creation of calm space with the translucent panels is a nice contrast to the edgy salon. The architect was quite inventive with his/her use of materials.”

NEW CONSTRUCTION / CITATION
Project: Elkhorn Community Rec. Center (Common Ground)
Owner: City of Elkhorn
Firm: RDG Planning & Design
Photographer: Tom Kessler, Omaha, Nebraska
A Recreation Center was desired for a growing community. Resistance is executed in the design through structural tension and compression. The stairs emphasizes the idea of resistance while the track wraps the workout area (compression). The jogging track cantilevers out from the main structure and is open to multiple interior spaces. The Solera glass wraps the track on the exterior of the building. The mullions patter on the glass on the cadence of the jogging. A mixture of materials gives a sense of layering and transparency to the skin of the building.
Jury Comments: “The track is a great concept in this building and would attract a lot of clients. It has a well-organized plan, however we wished there had been more information and images provided about the rest of the spaces in the building.”

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