The Art Chapel wins the 2026 AZ Award for Architecture-Adaptive Re-Use

“It completely surprised me. It’s very beautiful without a tonne of resources.” – 2026 jury member Michael Van Valkenburgh.

The Art Chapel won the 2026 AZ Award for Architecture-Adaptive Re-Use. Azure writes, “Church is not unlike community theatre: Both are built on ritual, with an audience congratulating around an elevated state to bear witness. The newly renovated Art Chapel in Lincoln, Nebraska takes that idea one step future with an exterior wall cut to roll open like a stage flat, allowing the community to gather outside and participate in what’s happening within.” 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 serves the South Downtown community, an economically depressed area in Lincoln, Nebraska with few cultural outlets, by hosting 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. Design and construction of the Art Chapel is a collaboration between FACT and PLAIN D*B with Actual Architecture Co. as architect of record. Learn about the project here.

Read more at Azure Magazine.

Launched in 2011, the AZ Awards is AZURE’s international architecture and design competition, recognizing excellence and innovation, and showcasing the world’s best projects, products and ideas.

Published by Sandow and distributed primarily in North America, Azure is a leading contemporary design magazine and one of a handful of influential design magazines worldwide. In four visually stunning issues a year, we deliver coverage of architecture, interiors, product design, landscape design and urbanism. Through profiles of top architects and designers, stories about transformative projects, and trend news from major design fairs around the world, Azure anticipates the future, provides invaluable insight and shines a spotlight on the issues, ideas and people that matter. Winners and finalists of the AZ Awards are published in the AZ Awards Annual – Azure‘s Summer issue – and featured on Azure’s digital and social channels.