With a more than a 20-year working relationship with Creighton Prep, LEO A DALY was recently retained by the school to provide planning, architecture and engineering services for a series of projects.

Several factors were key to the projects’ success. Working closely and continually communicating with the client, we were able to balance the scope and budget to ensure all requested upgrades were made within one cohesive solution. Early planning was critical so the projects could start and finish during the summer vacation schedule. Ease of maintenance of products was important to users of the building, so we were very deliberate in our product selection.

The projects included:

Commons/cafeteria renovation. We provided design services for the redevelopment of the Rev. Henry L. Sullivan Student Center, a project previously designed by LEO A DALY. The commons area was reconfigured to accommodate 500 students for an expanded lunch program and an office for the assistant to the president. The kitchen previously operated as a catering kitchen only. It was completely renovated and now offers full-service lunch and meals for special events. Interior finishes were updated and a series of stained-glass windows were installed, exhibiting the Jesuit crest to remind all of the school’s unique foundation.

Chapel renovation. We led the interior redesign of the campus chapel to allow for more student seating, brighter finishes and a more modern feel, without compromising the already peaceful environment. We also worked with the school on custom furnishings design and procurement.

72nd and Western graphics/signage. We designed updated campus signage, including a large monument on 72nd Street and three smaller monument signs at campus entrances. We prepared the conditional use permit application paperwork for the city and handled contract documents.

North parking lot. We also designed the north property parking expansion on campus. This project provided approximately 150 new, off-street parking stalls for the high school, reducing impact on the surrounding neighborhood and improving safety. Bio-swale design features handle detention needs in lieu of a detention pond.

Omaha Public Schools (OPS) developed a bold plan to reinvent Benson High – its smallest high school – by turning it into a career academy where students receive job training, college credit and classes tailored to specific career fields.

To accommodate the project-based learning academies, the 112-year old school required modifications to the building. LEO A DALY was selected to provide full architectural and engineering design services to ensure the space provides flexibility, both architecturally and from an engineering services perspective, to support the academy’s unique requirements.

Our effort on the Benson project began with a series of user group meetings that included students, staff and academy advisory board members to identify the needs of each space. Once a program was developed, the group participated in a series of meetings to develop the design that best supported the goals of the curriculum.

One of the primary design goals was to develop academy-specific zones within the existing building. It was important that classrooms and faculty spaces associated with each academy were located in curriculum-focused zones of the building. The goal is to create opportunities for collaboration and synergy among students and faculty.

Each academy was designed to provide a set of general-purpose classrooms, along with academy-specific classrooms, such as production labs, science labs, a culinary classroom and a fabrication lab. Within each academy zone there is a faculty planning room with a collaboration area, which provides desk space for the faculty members in the academy. The mid-section of the building contains global classrooms that are used by students from all the academies.

In addition to working with Benson High School as a design partner, we worked as a community partner. We frequently provided tours of our office to Benson students interested in the architecture and engineering professions. Other activities include a group project involving design and problem solving, touring local buildings with the architects who designed them and touring the Peter Kiewit Institute with current University of Nebraska Omaha students.

Additionally, as part of the Benson renovation project, we worked with a team of students to program and design the casework for the robotics classroom in a semester-long project.

As a result of our phase I services, OPS selected LEO A DALY to provide mechanical, electrical, interiors and architecture services for phase II of this renovation.