RDG News & Press Releases: March 2005 Archives

March 2005 Summary

RDG Chosen for Prestigious University of Florida Project

The Sports Studio at RDG Planning & Design to Design Hilton Coliseum Improvements

RDG Designer's Home Tour Booklet Wins Prestigious Communication Arts Award

RDG Earns Golden Spike Award for Civic Contributions

RDG Chosen for Prestigious University of Florida Project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 10, 2005
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Al Oberlander (515) 288-3141

RDG Planning & Design has been chosen from 25 firms to design new training facilities for baseball, soccer, volleyball and track for the University of Florida’s Athletic Department. This prestigious commission will be RDG's seventh sports architectural project on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, FL. RDG’s growing list of college and university sports facility clients has earned the firm a strong national reputation, with award-winning facilities in Florida, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Iowa, as well as major projects in Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Illinois, Texas and Wisconsin.

“This project is especially exciting for us, because the competition was fierce, and it was from some of the biggest names in the business,” said Al Oberlander, Principal at RDG Planning & Design. “In the last decade, we’ve become a prominent player in this national market. We’ve got a unique approach and a real depth of knowledge here, and clients see it. That’s not only good for us, it’s good for Iowa.”

Since 1992, RDG has had a particularly fruitful relationship with the University of Florida, which has an athletics program that consistently ranks as one of the top five in the nation, based on all sports performances. The award-winning 1994 Southwest Recreation Center (and its subsequent addition) serves a multitude of student recreation and intramural needs. Several acclaimed university sports programs have RDG-designed homes, such as the Health & Human Performance Program in its renovated Florida Gym facility, the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex, and the Basketball Practice Facility. ESPN commentator Andy Katz called the Basketball Facility,” the most striking basketball practice facility in Division I, and perhaps, in all of basketball.”

RDG also designed the sophisticated Florida Club facility for the University of Florida Athletic Association, and Oak Hammock, a retirement community funded by the University of Florida Foundation. In addition to specific building designs, RDG has led five extensive master planning processes for the University of Florida (see attached list).

In Iowa, RDG Planning & Design has its stamp on higher education sports and recreation facilities across the state. RDG designed the new Football Practice Facility at Iowa State University, the Knapp Center at Drake University, the Ron Skipper Sports Center at Central College, the University of Iowa Fieldhouse renovations, and is currently working on projects at Wartburg College, Loras College, and the Drake Stadium renovations

The Sports Studio at RDG Planning & Design to Design Hilton Coliseum Improvements

The Sports Studio at RDG Planning & Design has recently been hired to design facility improvements for Hilton Coliseum on the Iowa State University campus. The improvements are focused on improving ease of use, safety, and comfort for all guests. This renovation will address code compliance and related facility improvements and include fire alarm system upgrades, expansion of the existing concourse, new concessions, new novelty sales areas, and expanded reconfiguration of the mezzanine stair/vomitories, elevator repair/replacement, exterior elevated walkway repair, increased seating capacity, existing seat repair and new lighting and building heating/air conditioning systems. RDG Planning & Design has been involved with higher education sports and recreation facilities across the state of Iowa. RDG designed the new Football Practice Facility at Iowa State University, the Knapp Center at Drake University, the Ron Schipper Sports Center at Central College, the University of Iowa Fieldhouse renovations, Valley Stadium, Wartburg College Football/Track Stadium, and is currently working on the renovations to Drake Stadium. Nationally, RDG has been involved with the following spectator venues: University of Texas-Dallas Arena, Wheaton College Arena, Dover Civic Arena, Mankato Civic Arena, University of Florida Baseball and Tennis Stadiums, University of Minnesota Duluth Stadium, Hastings College Stadium, University of Franklin & Marshall Olympic Aquatics Center, and is serving as the Interior Architect for the Iowa Events Center.

RDG Designer's Home Tour Booklet Wins Prestigious Communication Arts Award

David Kadavy enters elite ranks; under 2 percent of entries accepted

OMAHA, Nebraska. Award-winning graphic designer David Kadavy of Omaha's RDG Planning & Design is the only Nebraskan to earn a place in Communication Arts magazine's 45th Design Annual, published in November 2004.

"It is the most selective, and is regarded as the most prestigious, graphic-design competition in the world," says Kadavy. He captured corporate-design honors for his 2003 Omaha Architects' Home Tour guidebook, which features a "simple, elegant design" and a user-friendly fold-out map, explained Mary Campbell, RDG marketing.

At only 25, Kadavy has achieved what "for many designers is a career-long goal," he says. The brochure also earned a bronze award in the 2003 Nebraska annual of AIGA, the professional association for communication design.

Communication Arts received more than 12,000 entries for the 45th Design Annual, accepting less than 2 percent. The magazine, with a circulation nearing 100,000, is a favorite of creative professionals.
"The annual is generally dominated by design meccas [such as] London, San Francisco, New York, Minneapolis, and Chicago," explains Kadavy. "In the past five years, I have seen only one other Omaha firm in the annual."

"The 2003 Architects' Home Tour collateral had to be captivating and informative," explains RDG partner Brad Milton. With a focus on clean and functional design, RDG developed a logo for the tour and incorporated it into an "engaging and easy-to-use Web site [along with] an event ticket/program that enabled the attendees to easily navigate from one home to the next…."

To see the brochure in digital form, visit www.architectshometour.com online.

Other recent awards to Kadavy include two bronze awards for the American Institute of Graphic Arts Nebraska Chapter's annual show promotional poster and promotional announcement and a silver award for the tour's Web site (www.rdgusa.com).

RDG Earns Golden Spike Award for Civic Contributions

Commitment to Omaha's Downtown Redevelopment Prompts Move for Firm

RDG Planning & Design is the downtown-area winner of the 2004 Golden Spike Award presented by the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. Established in 1979, the award recognizes businesses that have made outstanding contributions to the Omaha economy.

Designing bright, innovative early-childhood centers; restoring and expanding historic buildings; and moving its own headquarters downtown are just a few of the ways RDG has contributed to Downtown Omaha's economic, retail, and residential revival—-a key factor in the firm's selection for the award.

RDG and its employees energetically support downtown projects such as the Summer Arts Festival. As part of that event, RDG sponsors the annual Wind and Water Sculpture Exhibition. Last summer 18 sculptures were installed near RDG's 10th & Farnam location. Several pieces will remain as permanent additions to the downtown landscape along Gene Leahy Mall.

"RDG has had an important role in the planning and evolution of Omaha's downtown into a revitalized government, corporate, and upscale residential center," said John Birge, one of RDG's founders.

"In 2000, RDG moved downtown from its West Omaha location," retaining in its restored downtown offices "the look and feel of an old brick warehouse" while incorporating style and efficiency.
The move downtown brought more than 50 employees to one of the city's oldest districts. "The advantages of being downtown are many; to both the city and RDG," Birge said.

"Our office space is a dynamic, creative environment for our staff," he said, "and it's an easy walk to the Missouri riverfront park and the Old Market with its restaurants, shops, galleries, and other businesses. We're conveniently located for our downtown clients, plus we're close to the airport and right across the street from two major hotels, which is convenient for out-of-town visitors as well."

RDG contributes to Omaha's economy in a number of other ways, said Birge. Seventy-five percent of the firm's revenue comes from projects outside of Omaha, for example.

"Golden Spike Awards are a great way to recognize businesses that have been the cornerstone in their community and have expanded, improved, or added jobs," said Mike Eck, Gateway Community Bank president and event sponsor. The Golden Spike was selected as the award's symbol because of the railroad's importance in Omaha's early development. A golden spike marked completion of the first U.S. transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah, linking east and west on May 10, 1869.

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