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Rhiannon Strazdas Selected Works Architecture Graduate and Undergraduate Portfolio 2023-2026

“an architect’s desk” photoshop collage

Rhiannon Strazdas M.Arch EDUCATION

phone 402.507.8469 email rrstrazdas@gmail.com instagram @strazarch

Master of Architecture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln August 2024 - May 2026

Bachelor of Science in Design, Architectural Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Minor in Product Design August 2020 - May 2024

EXPERIENCE

Architectural Intern, HDR, Omaha & Lincoln, NE May 2024 - January 2026 Collaborated with the design team to produce and develop architectural plans, sketches, 3D models, and renders for various project types. Utilized Rhino, Revit, and Adobe Creative Suite to create highquality drawings, renderings, and presentations.

Graduate Learning Assistant, UNL, Lincoln, NE August 2024 - May 2026 Assisted the professor in the development and delivery of course materials, including reading assignments and assessments for undergraduate history students. Graded assignments, exams, and essays, giving constructive feedback to help students improve their writing and understanding of historical themes.

Undergraduate Research Assistant, UNL UCARE, Lincoln, NE May 2022 - May 2024 Collaborated with Dr. Peter Olshavsky to research and organize information on the built works of Steven Holl, contributing to project descriptions and analyses. Gathered and curated source materials, ensuring comprehensive documentation of 50+ projects.

PUBLICATIONS

Writer and Editor, Unicameral Design Magazine Volumes 3 & 4 Wrote editorial features, articles, and curated layouts within the magazine. Assisted in the creation of “blurbs” - graphic snippets between features focusing on the cultural identity of architecture and the state of design in Nebraska.

SKILLS & SOFTWARE

3D Modeling: Rhinoceros, Revit

Adobe Suite: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign

Rendering: Enscape, V-Ray

Table of Contents Academic 01

AeroCenter

Bug House

Labyrinth

The Village

Professional 01

Point of Impact: Conference Installation

AeroCenter Aviation Institute Lincoln, NE In collaboration with JJ Miller William DeRoin and Emily Tetschner, Fall 2025 This project is envisioned as a forward-looking hub for aviation education, where architecture embodies innovation and progress. Its aerodynamic form and adaptive interior environments reflect the dynamic nature of flight and evolving technologies. Classrooms, hangars, and simulation spaces are designed for flexibility, supporting emerging modes of instruction and research. The Aviation Institute positions students not only to observe the future of flight, but to shape it, with a building that teaches as boldly as the programs it houses.

main entry

CIRCULAR FORM

The AeroCenter is conceived as a circular learning environment where form becomes an active driver for discovery. The loop represents the continuous cycle of innovation in aerospace, while the radial organization orients every student space toward a shared center of activity and exchange. The building’s fully glazed façade expresses a commitment to transparency.

airport site plan

west elevation

runway and site hill connection

PRE-ENGINEERED METAL

Attached to the main circular structure is a maintenance hangar designed as a pre-engineered metal building (PEMB). Departing from conventional rectilinear PEMB, the hangar features curved metal walls that echo the form of the institute and explore the structural potential of adaptive, nontraditional geometries.

PROGRAM + AMPHITHEATER

At the center of the Institute is an open-air courtyard and amphitheater. From the stepped seating, students can observe aircrafts positioned in the courtyard from an elevated perspective. This outdoor classroom becomes a living stage where maintenance demonstrations, design reviews, and full-scale aerospace experiments unfold in real time. Once demonstrations are complete, the plane can be driven directly into the adjacent maintenance hangar, reinforcing a seamless flow between theory, observation, and technical practice.

section

lobby

floor three

5 6

2 4

8 3

floor two/main entry plan

amphitheater

1. lobby 2. drone flight lab 3. flight simulators 4. classroom 5. briefing room 6. faculty office 7. flight team room 8. fitness 9. observation deck 10. amphitheater

Bennett Martin Addition Lincoln, NE In collaboration with Phillip Boyd Michael Harpster, Spring 2024 Bug House is a residential addition and renovation to the existing Bennett Martin Public Library in downtown Lincoln, NE. With an emphasis on biophilic design, this project aims to provide a unique housing experience while inspiring healthy habits through a connection to nature and discovery.

BIOPHILIC DESIGN

In order to preserve education-focused program, the former library building shell is preserved and its first floor is renovated into an entomology educational center, with an emphasis on pollinators, connecting to a public courtyard garden and exterior aviary. The project follows several biophilic patterns, including material connections through exposed CLT, a lobby waterfall, and an interior lightwell running through the co-housing.

RESIDENTIAL LOBBY

INFANTS (0-1)

TODDLERS (2-3)

GARDEN ED. LOUNGE

STOR

ADA ACCESSIBLE ENTRANCE

DAYCARE

CHILDREN (4-5)

CHILDREN 6-7)

PLAYSCAPE

AVIARY

Ent(ED) LOBBY COFFEE SHOP STOR

ADA ACCESSIBLE ENTRANCE

ground floor plan

ent-ed lobby

aviary and courtyard

INSECT HOLE insect hole

MATERIALITY

The building’s facade consists of a pre-cast lightweight aggregate green concrete panel system. These panels run 12’ floor to floor, connected mid-floor plates via a steel tie back and dead load plate. These panel faces were initially developed through physical rockite model studies, and later developed using environmental and shading analysis. These, combined with a CLT structural system, create visual interest as well as connect within the aviary by providing housing structure for the birds. NEST bird BIRD nest

ALUMINUM FOIL-MOLDED ROCKITE ALUMINUM FOIL-MOLDED ROCKITE ALUMINUM FOIL-MOLDED ROCKITE ALUMINUM FOIL-MOLDED ALUMINUM ROCKITE FOIL-MOLDED ROCKITE

ALUMINUM FOIL-MOLDED ROCKITE

+FOIL EMBEDS + EMBEDS FOIL FOIL + EMBEDS FOIL + EMBEDS FOIL + EMBEDS

FOIL + EMBEDS

CONCRETE STUDIES

Rockite casting studies were conducted to explore texture options with pre-cast concrete, ultimately helping to develop a “crinkle concrete” panel system.

aluminum foil-molded rockite

Materials Cross-Laminated Timber Structure Glass Precast Concrete Panel

History

foil + embeds

Existing Library Concrete Facade Neighboring 1932 Centennial Building

RIBBED TEXTURE + ACRYLIC UNDERLAY

RIBBED TEXTURE + ACRYLIC UNDERLAY RIBBED + ACRYLIC UNDERLAY RIBBED TEXTURE +TEXTURE ACRYLIC UNDERLAY RIBBED TEXTURE + ACRYLIC RIBBED UNDERLAY TEXTURE + ACRYLIC UNDERLAY

Context Corner of 14th and N Streets

ribbed texture + acrylic underlay

FOIL + BLACK DYE

+FOIL BLACK DYE DYE + BLACK FOIL FOIL + BLACK DYE FOIL + BLACK DYE FOIL + BLACK DYE

foil + black dye

south elevation

3’ - 6”

5’ - 0”

5’ - 0” PANELS

Living Areas Community Zones

3’ - 6” PANELS

Living Areas Community Zones Bedrooms

2’ - 6” PANELS Bedrooms Bathrooms 12’ - 0”

Organic Textured Precast Concrete Panel

Brick Screenin

Matches Existing S on the Bennett Ma

Denotes Change B Housing Types

Creates Unique Lig Effect on Interior

Brick Screening Wall To Match Bennett Martin

2’ - 6”

Enlarged Elevation 02 Parapet 90' - 0" Roof 89’ - 0"

Level 7

77' - 0"

Level 6

65' - 0"

Level 5

53' - 0"

Level 4

41' - 0"

Level 3

29' - 0"

Transfer 24' - 0"

Level 2

12' - 0"

Level 1

0' - 0"

CO-HOUSING

The residential addition focuses on multiple housing types, with traditional style apartments as well as two types of co-housing. Each co-housing zone features a central community space with kitchen, dining, lounge, and access to outdoor spaces. These are integrated within the apartment circulation, breaking the mold of the common double-loaded corridor, and merging what is traditionally a static, minimally-used space with a lively amenity that inspires community living.

Ho(T) 2 BED WD

Ho(T) 3 BED WD

Ho(T) 1 BED

Co(C) 3 BED

Co(C) 2 BED

Co(S) 2 BED

OTB

Co(S) 3 BED WD

Co(C) 2 BED

Co(S) 1 BED

floor three through seven plan

community space

18" 60"

60"

18"

S) 3 Co( WD 60"

C) 2

Co(

18"

Ho(

three-bed apartment

T) 1

Bed

Labyrinth Mutual of Omaha Adaptive Reuse Omaha, NE In collaboration with JJ Miller and Clara Hetherington Jeremy Reding and Guy Trerotola, Spring 2025 Labyrinth is an adaptive reuse of the Mutual of Omaha Building in Omaha, Nebraska, reimagined as a prototype for architecture that actively supports human well-being. The project is grounded in biophilic design, using patterns such as mystery, risk, prospect, and refuge to create environments that adapt to users’ physical, mental, and social needs. Through spatial sequencing, layered volumes, filtered light, water elements, natural materials, and cultivated moments of discovery, Labyrinth fosters reduced stress, enhanced creativity, and improved clarity of thought, qualities increasingly vital to promote positive mental health in an increasingly urbanized world.

pathway circulation diagram

library refuge seating

SITE

Labyrinth occupies a prominent position within Omaha’s midtown, making it an ideal site for a publicfacing wellness hub that reconnects occupants to nature while engaging the surrounding community. area plan

north section

USER

The user journey through Labyrinth unfolds as a gradual sequence of discovery, where layered spaces, shifting light, and framed views encourage movement and exploration. As occupants transition between public and clinical areas, the architecture adapts to offer moments of prospect, refuge, mystery, and controlled risk on pathways which support both engagement and mental clarity. digital section sketch

west section

risk treatment floor

risk

risk treatment floor

RISK

The risk pattern in Labyrinth frames experimental architecture as a form of treatment, using elevated pathways, atrium crossings, and a cliff-like exterior to introduce controlled exposure and perceived risk. With clear safeguards in place, these moments of height and openness promote mental health benefits such as increased focus, resilience, and emotional regulation, allowing occupants to safely confront mild stressors while actively engaging with architecture as a therapeutic tool. MYSTERY

The mystery pattern in Labyrinth is driven by movement through partially concealed spaces, layered views, and subtle sensory cues that draw occupants forward. This spatial progression culminates in a “reward” space marked by light, openness, or nature, that reinforces curiosity, reduces stress, and supports mental well-being by encouraging exploration, focus, and a sense of accomplishment.

circular therapy room

library with mezzanine

mystery corridor

refuge

mystery

library floor plan

The Village Boys Town CTE Center Boys Town, NE In collaboration with Devyn Burroughs and Chloe Strecker Darin Hanigan and Vanessa Schutte, Fall 2023 This project provides students with the ability to cultivate their futures through Career & Technical Education programs while prioritizing student health and safety. The idea of “village” connects back to the history of Boys Town, which was established as its own village by Father Edward Flanagan in the 1920s, as well as the functional and aesthetic layout of this project. Each building houses its own CTE program, with an additional building for administration. These buildings are “connected” by an exterior circulation porch, enclosed on the ends to allow for secure entry and exit from the building complex.

village aerial

THE “VILLAGE”

A village is defined as a small community in a rural area, usually smaller than a town. They serve as a safe environments, providing resources needed for survival. Villages are arranged as clusters surrounding a central point, either an open green space or a developed plaza. The buildings clustered around this central point use a variety of patterns and shapes to create visual interest within the community. TRANSITIONAL FORM

The village form was derived as a “transition” in scale and shape between the nearby residential homes which the students live in and the larger adjacent high school Fieldhouse.

residential unit

campus area plan

new cte center

fieldhouse

GLASS CURTAIN WALL - COLLABORATION AREAS

DAYLIGHTING WINDOWS

VIEWING WINDOWS

GLASS CURTAIN WALL - COLLABORATION AREAS

facade fenestration DAYLIGHTING WINDOWS

art building exterior

VIEWING WINDOWS

interior art building gallery

floor two plan

CIRCULATION PORCH

Village roads and pathways play a pivotal role in shaping the infrastructure of rural communities, contributing to the overall sense of belonging and identity. This project seeks to build a sense of belonging for students through added sidewalks connecting the individual buildings to a central “town square” and the rest of the Boys Town campus. The town square features a wooden porch on its perimeter, allowing students the choice of walking beneath it for shelter from the weather while traveling between classes.

broadcasting studio

Point of IMPACT HDR Conference Installation Omaha, NE In collaboration with Pierce Bower and Landon Healy Fall 2024 Every other year, HDR hosts the IMPACT A + BES Global Conference to explore how professional achievements can create a positive and long-lasting impact within the built environment. Our intern team was tasked to design a centerpiece that embodied the 2024 conference theme: “People, Passion, Planet,” which focuses on the interconnected nature of who HDR’s people are, what drives their passion, and how they instigate meaningful change in the world. The challenge involved creating a sculpturally and visually impactful focal point– not just a large sign with the name of the conference – exhibiting the collaboration between engineering and architecture.

preliminary sketch

axonometric view

plan

CARDBOARD CONSTRUCTION

As it is meant to be a temporary exhibit, care was taken to be a cost effective and responsible use of resources, using sustainable and local materials. The structures were designed to be easily assembled and disassembled, with the 144 total panels and rail system constructed entirely of 3-ply corrugated cardboard. This promotes material authenticity, embracing the qualities that come with using the material, with the corrugated edges left exposed.

TOP RAIL Kerf Bent Cardboard

48 VERTICAL PANELS CNC Cut Cardboard

SLOTTED JOINT Interlocking Dado Joint

BOTTOM RAIL Kerf Bent Cardboard

end cap designs

402.507.8469

rrstrazdas@gmail.com

@strazarch