AO

Sorry if we didn’t answer the phone this afternoon. We were celebrating Keith’s 50th birthday - AND watching team USA beat the Aussies at the World Cup. USA! USA! USA!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! AO + Blair Freeman Taco Tuesday celebration.

We are very excited to share that last Friday we received a Merit Award from the Central States chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects for Sofia’s Play Garden, the children’s garden at Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha. Matt Schafer, the lead designer, did an amazing job of creating a play area for young children that is as educational as it is fun.

Our favorite quote from one of the jury members:
“This makes me want to be a kid again! There are a lot of playgrounds out there, but few as engagingly fun and inviting as this. Well done on the use of color and form to create what looks like a great place to spend the afternoon. What’s really nice to see is that you all have mixed whimsy and playful, with nice landscape architecture details that didn’t have to be used, such as the separate pours wavy walls. Thank you for creating a playground space where it’s clear you all gave a s**t, and probably had fun doing it!”

Thank you to an amazing team of designers, engineers, contractors, and of course a mission driven owner.

Today we had the pleasure of showing Delaney, a junior at Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, a deeper dive into the field of architecture as she contemplates a career in either architecture or engineering. It’s always fun to show a high school student around the office and through a construction site.

Best of luck in your future career Delaney!

While excavating earth next to the Omaha Star for the Omaha Star Park, at 24th and Grant Streets, the contractor, Blair Freeman, uncovered an old historic axel and pair of wheels. A lot of debris has been uncovered underground in the area and conventional thought is that it was associated with the 1913 Easter tornado that tore through North Omaha. Building debris and household goods have been found and likely buried in an effort to clean up the damage as quickly as possible at the time.

The axel is now planned to be a component in the Omaha Star Park, and will be the base for a new bench.

What a nice way to end the year. We just received a copy of the McKay Lighting calendar for 2026, and a shot at Sofia’s Play Garden at Lauritzen is featured as the January picture. The image is of the Chorus Ventus sculpture within the garden by .uk. It is a beautiful piece that can be seen from the Interstate and has small bells on the ends of the fiberglass rods that create a quiet ringing chorus when the wind hits it.

Happy New Year to all of our friends and family - and hope the next year brings you joy and comfort.

The beautiful photograph is by our good friend Tom Kessler.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone from all of us at AO!

“Welcome, newcomers. The tradition of Festivus begins with the airing of grievances. I got a lot of problems with you people! And now you’re gonna hear about it!”

- Frank Costanza

Happy Festivus to all!

Friday we had our AO Christmas Party and Annual Ugly Ornament Exchange. It’s been a great year, and things are looking even better for 2026. Working with this amazing staff has resulted in projects we are really proud of.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours.

Grading for the Woodland Flyway has begun at the Lauritzen Gardens! The Flyway will allow pedestrians to walk from the Visitor Center into the formal gardens through the undisturbed forest on the property, skipping the old path that shared the road with motorized vehicles. It will provide a unique experience in a number of unique nodes along the path, and will be open in 2026.