Under faculty leadership, the designbuild studios operate an academic/professional collaborative design lab that offers students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a forum for exploration aimed at expanding the understanding of the complex relationships between thinking (conceiving, designing, theorizing) and making.
Our designbuild studios are labs in which ideas and new knowledge are developed though action as well as thought. Where academic design studios focus on ideation, conceptualization and a little design development, designbuild offers students an opportunity to focus on the creative opportunities embedded in the development and realization of projects. Such a practice allows production to influence design as much as design directs production.
Our DesignBuild Faculty
How We Approach Designbuild Pedagogy
FACT (Fabrication And Construction Team), directed by Jeffrey L. Day and PLAIN, directed by Jason Griffiths, are designbuild studios here with the college that engage in design intensive projects with creative, non-profit clients in collaborations that span design and construction.
Our designbuild studios engage students in three ways:
1. through a repeatable course offering for academic credit;
2. through ad hoc independent study contracts for academic credit; and
3. through paid internships funded by grants.
FACT
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PLAIN
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Our Partners
FACT (Fabrication and Construction Team) and PLAIN work with a diverse range of project partners—nonprofits, community groups, arts and cultural institutions, and civic agencies—to deliver projects that make a difference. Many of these collaborations focus on underrepresented or underserved communities, addressing critical needs in affordable housing, cultural infrastructure, public spaces, and educational facilities. By aligning with mission-driven organizations, FACT and PLAIN create impactful, real-world projects that generate lasting social, cultural, and economic value.
Project partners are engaged at different stages to ensure support and continuity for initiatives that may span multiple semesters. In most cases, project partners initiate the project and bring students into the process after schematic design. For designbuild and master planning efforts, collaboration often begins at the earliest design stages. When projects extend beyond a semester, project partners help maintain momentum and continuity between student cohorts. Across all projects, the studios place a strong emphasis on digital design and fabrication, equipping students with advanced skills for contemporary practice.
How it works
FACT (Fabrication and Construction Team) and PLAIN are complementary designbuild studio initiatives in the College of Architecture at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Operating in alternating academic years, they ensure students can access a designbuild experience in any semester of the M.Arch curriculum. On select complex, multi-year projects, FACT and PLAIN join forces—combining expertise, resources, and networks to deliver transformative outcomes.
FACT has collaborated with project partners such as the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Art Farm, Livable Omaha, the Sheldon Museum of Art, Community CROPS, the Salina Art Center, Theaster Gates’ Rebuild Foundation, and on numerous exhibitions and installations. To bring projects to life, FACT frequently works with builders, fabricators, and makers—including Cornhusker State Industries, the Nebraska State Prison’s fabrication shop management company. FACT’s work has earned numerous design awards, including ACSA’s inaugural national Design/Build Award in 2013, and has been widely published.
The PLAIN studios have contributed to projects such as the F Street Neighborhood Church, Santee Sioux Family Resource Center, Emerge, BAXA Cabin, and the South Sioux City Orchard Facility. Like FACT, PLAIN’s work has been recognized with multiple ACSA Design/Build honors and has been featured in national and international publications.
List of Partners
Cedar Point Biostation
Cedar Point Biostation, Ogallala, NE - Cedar Point Biological Station is a biological station that is recognized as a field-based museum of natural history.
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts
Acknowledged as one of the premier artist residencies in the world, the Bemis Center supports artists working at the leading edge of contemporary practice.
Community CROPS
Community CROPS helps people work together to grow healthy food and live sustainably.
Bauman Tree Farm
Bauman Farms grows an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables sold exclusively at the farm market on Howell Prairie.
F Street Neighborhood Church
F Street is a place of acceptance and direction. Therefore, we are a collection of people from all different backgrounds and experience.
Partners for Livable Omaha
Founded in 2020, Partners for Livable Omaha is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the livability of communities throughout the Omaha metro.
Native American Santee Sioux Nation and The Nebraska Children and Families Foundation
Nebraska Children and Families Foundation supports children, young adults, and families with the overall goal of giving Nebraska's kids what they need to thrive.
The Santee were the "frontier guardians of the Sioux Nation," that ranged from the Santee's home in what is currently Minnesota, across the Plains and to the northern Rocky Mountains in Montana and south through the northwestern part of Nebraska.
Art Farm Nebraska
Art Farm is located in south central Nebraska approximately 140 miles west of Omaha—80 miles west of Lincoln. The nearest shopping centers are Aurora (12 miles south), Central City (12 miles north), and Grand Island (population 48,000) is 20 miles west. It is a working farm of moderately diverse agriculture, from corn and soybean to prairie grass
South Sioux City
South Sioux City, Nebraska, is a city on the Missouri River, bordering Sioux City, Iowa. A smaller city with a population of around 13,835 and a total area of 5.96 square miles.
DesignBuild Project Videos
Art Chapel Project
DesignBuild Projects
Micro Dwelling Cabin Construction
Building the Art Chapel
Bemis Art Center
Exploring Affordable Housing in Omaha
