OMAHA, Neb. – BWBR, one of the oldest and larger architectural design firms in the Upper Midwest region, opened an office in Omaha, Neb., this week, bringing a physical presence to the state and vicinity that it has been serving for years.
The Omaha office is the third for the 96-year-old firm that started and still operates in Saint Paul, Minn. It is the second office the firm has opened in just more than five years, launching an office in 2012 in Madison, Wis., that employs nine people today.
“Expanding into Omaha is as much about logic as opportunity,” said Peter G. Smith, FAIA, president and CEO of the firm. “For decades we’ve served clients in the region stretching from west of Des Moines through the Siouxland to Yankton and Sioux Falls, S.D.
“Building off of our work in recent years that began in Alliance in western Nebraska, our opportunities have only grown, and this office will allow us to take advantage of those opportunities to serve organizations with the high-touch approach BWBR is known for providing.”
To open the Omaha office, BWBR welcomed Scott Kirchner, AIA, to its leadership team. An Omaha native, Kirchner is a 25-year veteran in the profession, carving a niche designing healthcare spaces for organizations serving both urban centers and rural communities from Mississippi to Colorado and throughout Nebraska.
“BWBR is widely respected for its attention to detail and quality, be it in healthcare, education, or high-tech manufacturing, and its reputation for research-informed design is growing,” Kirchner said. “Beyond its work, though, BWBR’s culture and values makes this an attractive opportunity and will be a refreshing approach for so many organizations who are seeking design thinking to advance their missions and goals.”
One of the most respected firms in the region, BWBR has established its reputation for project management, service and quality designing complex facilities in the healthcare, higher education, justice, government, corporate, manufacturing, transportation, religious, and recreational markets.
Joining Kirchner leading work out of the Omaha office will be Jason Nordling, AIA, a principal at BWBR with extensive experience in healthcare, as well as Stephanie McDaniel, AIA, and Terri Ulrick, AIA, veteran architects with experience in higher education, lab design, high-tech manufacturing, and government sector projects.
