Bryan Zimmer distinctly remembers, as a child, grocery shopping with his mother, returning home and drawing out the store’s entire floor plan. How fitting that his professional portfolio now includes project work for both Baker’s and Hy-Vee, two in a long list of clients he’s had the privilege of working with over the last 24 years.
“The relationships I’ve formed with my past clients – and the fact that I’m still friends with the vast majority of them – that’s the best part.”
Bryan joined AO in 1991 upon graduating from Kansas State University. A child of the 1970s energy conscious movement, he (and the rest of the firm) enthusiastically embrace energy-efficient, ecologically-correct architecture.
“We do environmentally-conscious work because we always have. It comes from a caring attitude.”
His motto in dealing with AO clients: listen, listen, listen.
“All firms are good at something. We’re really good about listening to what our clients want – and propelling their thoughts to a solution that works for them.”
Among his many achievements, Bryan is especially proud of the pro-bono work he has done for the historic Joslyn Castle as well as his numerous volunteer engagements with organizations, including St. Cecilia Parish, Nebraska State Historical Society, the Joslyn Castle Trust and the Douglas County Historical Society, and AIA Omaha. Bryan and Jan, his wife, have two children, ages 25 and 22.
“My kids have been victims of numerous architectural vacations. It’s under their skin – they’re sending me pictures of cool buildings now.”
