2025 Engineering Excellence Grand Award Winner

2025grandwinner

The Joslyn Art Museum Expansion – a project headed by Morrissey Engineering has been named the ACEC Nebraska Engineering Excellence Grand Award winner for 2025.

The Joslyn Art Museum expansion is a world class piece of architecture designed by the internationally renowned architectural firm Snøhetta. Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing & Technology systems blend seamlessly into the architecture, allowing the building and the art to exist in harmony, without distraction from building systems. 

The expansion significantly increases the museum’s gallery space, providing more room for its growing permanent collection and allowing for larger, more ambitious traveling exhibitions. 

The renovations and upgrades to the iconic existing buildings bring their MEPT systems to modern standards, providing stable indoor climate and energy efficiency.  The project prioritizes public spaces, including community gathering areas, educational spaces, and improved accessibility throughout the museum. It aims to create an inclusive environment where people from all backgrounds can enjoy art and culture, making it a vital cultural hub for Omaha.  The expansion integrates sustainable building practices, such as efficient energy use, natural lighting, and eco-friendly materials.

This approach reflects the museum’s commitment to environmental responsibility while also enhancing visitor experience with light-filled spaces that bring the outdoors inside.

The reduced energy use lessens the burden of utility bills on the museum, allowing more money to go to these important programs. The combination of cutting-edge architecture, enhanced exhibition space, and a focus on inclusivity and sustainability makes the Joslyn Art Museum expansion an advancement in what is possible for the arts community.

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Aaron Buettner

State Director

Aaron Buettner, PE, CVS leads Benesch’s Nebraska structural group, bringing more than 27 years of experience in structural engineering, project management and value engineering to every project he touches. His work spans highway, railroad and pedestrian bridges, and he has delivered public and private projects across the country involving a wide variety of materials and structure types.

Aaron’s technical depth covers the full project lifecycle, from structural design and in-service inspection to forensic evaluation and construction administration. He is proficient in multiple structural design and analysis software platforms and has a keen understanding of load paths and constructability. As a Certified Value Specialist (CVS), Aaron’s Value Engineering work has generated tens of millions of dollars in potential construction cost avoidance for clients ranging from state DOTs to transit agencies.

Notable projects include the Lincoln South Beltway, where his team designed 10 of 21 bridges on the freeway corridor; the N-12 Emergency Bridge Repairs in northeast Nebraska, where biddable plans for three flood-damaged structures were delivered in just three weeks; and the Penny Bridges Replacement in Lincoln, where value planning produced a context-sensitive solution that earned broad community support.

Aaron also serves as a Structures Specialist on Nebraska Task Force 1 (NE-TF1), which is one of 28 FEMA Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) teams located throughout the United States. In this role, he supports the search and rescue mission by assessing damaged structures, recommending structural hazard mitigation within those structures, and monitoring the structure for condition changes during rescue and victim recovery operations. During his tenure with NE-TF1, he has deployed ​on numerous missions within the state of Nebraska and around the nation to assist communities that have been impacted by emergencies or disasters.

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