The Art Chapel

"Make nothing" to build architecture

FACT 21

A Plain-FACT project, The Art Chapel is a safe and inspiring studio for adults to explore and cultivate their creativity through art and craft instruction provided at low cost. The Art Chapel interacts with the South Downtown community, an economically depressed area in Lincoln, Nebraska with few cultural outlets, by offering gallery shows and other art-related events for the public. The historic building, Lincoln’s first church structure, has been transformed from a neglected space into an asset for a struggling neighborhood. After a two-year hiatus during the pandemic, FACT + Plain Design Build re-engaging with The Art Chapel to complete this important building in 2025.

The Art Chapel is a collaboration with Plain Design Build. 

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The primary design acts are subtractive - removing material and abstracting the building to highlight its generic qualities and enhance the inherent beauty of its simplicity. Subtraction is a form of direct action on an object that preserves the object’s independence.

The most distinctive new feature is a large rolling wall that opens the Art Chapel to the community both literally and figuratively. The rolling wall is cut from the existing exterior wall preserving a door and window. The main interior space is a multi use room for art classes and exhibitions. At the back of this room is a new plywood wall that repeats the form of the open street elevation.

Designing versatile movable furniture was a big part of the project. Custom pieces include powered, nesting work tables, stackable bookcases that double as benches, and a rolling ladder. All are built from Fir marine plywood to match the interior sheathing of the building.

Details make the project: the Art Chapel includes many subtle, often hidden details that improve functionality, simplify aesthetics, and reinforce the “build nothing” ethic of adaptive reuse.

Custom details occur throughout, but all serve the overall project goals and in many cases, students worked to obscure the intensive effort necessary to build with visual restraint

All Parts of The Art Chapel

The Art Chapel is perceptually mute at first look. By “making nothing” the project explores architecture’s ability to disarm the viewer through apparent simplicity and to allow the true nature of the transformation to slowly reveal itself.

Designbuild process: installing the rolling wall header beam, May 2024

"Show Us Your Art" community gallery event at the Art Chapel featuring an exhibition of Art Chapel design and 1:1 mockups

Material and detail explorations

Working with Full-scale Mockups

Full-scale mockups are a common feature in the construction industry, especially for large, complex building assemblies such as custom facade systems, hospital surgeries, and other highly specialized building systems. However, these are typically built to validate design decisions made in conventional ways via computer models or drawings. The mockup verifies details and constructibility after significant investments in design detailing are complete.  FACT, Plain D*B and Actual Architecture Co. use mockups differently: the full-scale mock up is the site of design development, the method through which details are created, tested, and verified. We often build mockups after concepts are defined in the Schematic Design phase but before commencing final Construction Documents for a project.



A mockup of the rolling wall by Plain D*B

Mockups of the steel window frame by FACT and building assembly by Plain D*B

Striking the prime datum line (window heads) around the room; welding custom window frames.

First window installed

Framing the rolling wall

Moving the rolling wall to Art Chapel

The door rolls! (May 2024)

Custom-fabricated concealed latches maintain a "clean" interior appearance and hide security hardware for view

Art Making Space

FACT works with creative nonprofit clients in collaborations that span design and construction. Central to FACT’s mission are projects shaping places of intersection between the production and consumption of culture – where the creators and audiences meet. With The Art Chapel, Plain + FACT explore artistic methods in the making of space, and the production of space to serve the making of art.



Building the art tables.

Each table has build in power outlets for art making equipment. Tall and low tables nest when an open gallery space is desired

Fall 2021 FACT studio kicking off work at the Art Chapel

Recognition

2025 Architects Newspaper Best of Design Awards (student work)

2025 AIA Nebraska Honor Award

2025 SARA National Design Awards, Honor Award

2025 AIA Central States Region Honor Award

Lincoln Journal Star, “New Life for Old Chapel” (featuring Art Chapel) by Susie Boyaird, July 15, 2025 (printed above the fold)

Project Team

FACT students, construction phase:
Devyn Beekman, Izzy Brehm, Colton Corrin, Wyatt Gosnell, Ashley Hillhouse, Haneen Jabbar, Tanner Koeppe, Angela Medina, Nicholas Olsen, John Raridon, Ben Van Brocklin, Kayla Weller, Meagan Willoughby, Ethan Watermeier, Andrew Winter

Plain-FACT students, design phase:
Alec Burk, David Huismann, Saray Martinez, Andrew Rose, Kyra Stradley, Chris Antonopoulos, Caleb Goehring, Brandon Jensen, Joshua Pfeifer, Madeline Whitted

Actual Architecture Co. staff:
Ethan Boerner

Photography By Photographs of the completed project by Walker Pickering, construction photos by FACT or Plain unless otherwise noted.
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