Exterior rendering of Corby House. Courtesy of FACT.
Exterior rendering of Benson House. Courtesy of FACT.
Upcoming Events
Partners for Livable Omaha invites you to follow and support the OurStory Small Houses program.
Spearheaded by the nonprofit Partners for Livable Omaha in 2024, OurStory is a multi-year program. We partner with a regional team of professionals, academics, and architecture students to create new design solutions for developers and builders who are creating small houses, accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and cottage court developments.
Whether you're building for a loved one, or building for the love of your community, this collaborative design process and lessons learned will empower you to take action.
To donate to the OurStory program, visit www.livable.org/giving
For more information, contact Jessica@livable.org
For press inquires, contact Kaylea@livable.org
“This investment in training and mentoring Nebraska-based architects ensures a pipeline of professionals who understand aging-in-place principles and will carry those skills throughout their careers. By focusing on local talent and practical solutions, the program is building capacity that benefits the entire state.”
2024-25 Program Impact
Developed the OurStory Small Houses system
Started construction on 2 OurStory single-family houses
Supported 2 architectural interns
Trained and mentored 34 architecture students
Hosted 3 design exhibitions
Going to Scale: Supporting Nebraska’s Housing Ecosystem
In 2026, together with our partners – and powered by our architectural internship program – we are launching an OurStory Small Houses catalog and providing house plans and design services to catalyze small, aging-ready housing construction projects.
By adopting construction innovations developed and pre-tested by our team, and embracing designs that make life easier for all people, our work creates new opportunities for builders and developers focused on workforce housing, affordable housing, accessible housing, aging-ready housing, infill housing, and gentle density developments.
Interior rendering of Benson House. Courtesy of FACT.
Interior rendering of Corby House. Courtesy of FACT.
Call to Action
The OurStory Small Houses project is a response to America’s growing housing crisis.
How do we want to live as we age?
How do we buy a first home with limited resources?
How do we enhance the character of established communities while adding housing?
According to AARP, the U.S. population is rapidly aging with 1 in 5 Americans to be 65 or older by 2030. In Nebraska, 94% of Nebraskans age 45 and older say staying in their homes as they age is extremely or very important.
Yet only 1% of existing homes have all of the following key accessibility features: a zero-step entrance, single-story living, wide halls and doorways, lever-style handles, and electrical controls that are accessible from a wheelchair.
At the other end of the market, according to the National Association of Realtors, the typical first-time homebuyer in the U.S. is now 40 years old, a record high. Buyers, who delay their first purchase until 40, lose about $150,000 in equity on their starter home compared with those who purchase at 30.
Designed for all ages and stages of life
OurStory Small Houses are prototype aging-ready homes for Omaha and beyond that seeks affordability at the intersection of design, finance, and policy.
Designed by the UNL College of Architecture’s FACT studio and led by Partners for Livable Omaha, OurStory fills a gap in the market for small house designs that are constructible, financeable, environmentally sustainable, and empowering.
OurStory designs can function as:
Standalone small homes
Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to existing homes
Small homes within cottage courts and cluster communities
Benefits of the OurStory housing system
Designed for real life — Accessible, durable, low-maintenance, and stylish.
Long-term savings — Energy-efficient technologies help minimize energy waste and are better for the environment. By using less energy, owners enjoy lower utility bills.
Future-proof — All-electric, high-performance, and designed for changing weather risks. Designed to withstand high-wind scenarios with 3-4 times the shear strength of conventional framing.
Easy to adapt the home to meet the lifestyle and accommodation needs of occupants at all stages of life.
Radically efficient — Prefab SIPs panels reduce framing time by 55% and outperform traditional framing.
A frost protected shallow foundation saves up to 10 days on the schedule, and adds a 27% cost savings, 40% material savings, and 26% labor savings compared to a traditional foundation.
Customizable — A catalog of adaptable designs for single-lot infill housing, ADUs and cottage courts is under development.
House Parts: red = SIPs, blue = prefabricated components
Beyond the Classroom: Building Benson House & Corby House
The first two OurStory houses known as Corby House & Benson House are under construction now in Omaha’s historic Benson-Country Club community. The all-electric, space-efficient concept is rooted in universal design and features structural insulated panels (exterior walls and roof), heat pumps, and prefabricated components to reduce construction time, boost building energy efficiency, and realize affordability.
Our first build is made possible with a construction loan from Spark, with additional support from Lozier Foundation, Pella Windows and Doors of Omaha and Lincoln, Sherwin Williams and Buildertrend. The general contractor is Holy Name Housing Corporation. The architect of record is Actual Architecture Co. The designer is FACT. The developer is Partners for Livable Omaha.
View houses for sale now at OurStoryHouses.com.
Learn about our design process with UNL’s FACT studio, view site plans and additional images at www.factlab.org
Give anonymous feedback on the OurStory designs and our current build in the Benson neighborhood in Omaha.
FACT 30 Fall 2024 team, photograph by Craig Chandler, UNL
FACT 30.4 Fall 2025 team, photograph by Kerry McCullough-Vondrak, UNL
Creative Workforce Development
OurStory Architectural Internship
To advance the OurStory project, we partnered with Actual Architecture Co. and the UNL College of Architecture, to create a year-round internship program. Together, we provide young, Nebraska-based architects with advanced training, mentorship, and opportunities to work on real-world, aging-ready, and innovative housing design and construction projects.
This internship program launched in 2025 with the generous support of AARP and AIA.
2025 OurStory Interns
Oz Eckhorn
Carl Williams
Experiential Education
Since 2024, the OurStory program has worked with students at the UNL College of Architecture and a network of national and Omaha and Lincoln-based organizations, stakeholders and experts who share a common vision for strengthening the aging-ready housing options in our communities.
UNL FACT Studio Members
Fall 2024 & Spring 2025
Sreemedha Chintamadaka, Machelle Cooper, Malik Darwish, Oz Eckhorn, Nico Forte, Paulina Garcia, Luke Heidenreich, Riley Jarosz, Alex Martino, Michael Rieder, Gavin Stelling, Trent Weatherwax, Carl Williams
Spring 2025
Isaac Alvarado, Devyn Beekman, Kael Jakub
Fall 2025
Nini Aguilera, Evelyn Allison, Carter Boterf, Anastasiia Chanh, Will Churchill, Moises Cotom Pacheco, Asa DeWitt, Kayla Edwards, Jasmin Giri, Alexander Gomez-Cazares, Ella Krause, Andres Lucas, Benjamin Morgan, Naila Okai, Ashton Olvera, Duncan Powell, Dmitry Rybak, December Thomas
Thank you to our OurStory advisors from 2024 and 2025
Christian Buckler, Dundee Bank
Ashley Byars, UNL College of Architecture
Heather Cannon, Sherwin Williams
Jon Carrell, TD2
Matthew Cavanaugh, Holy Name Housing Corporation
Emily Cerny, UNL College of Architecture
Dave Collins, Realcorp Appraisers and Consultants
Brady Conant, Pella Windows and Doors of Omaha and Lincoln
Dana Cuff, cityLAB at the University of California
Meridith Dillion
Teri Doss
Brian Doyle, Spark Capital
Jason Eickmeier, Morrissey Engineering
Tim Fries, City of Omaha Planning Department
Barbara Grant, Humanities Nebraska
Greg Paskach, City of Omaha Planning Department
Phillip Henderson, Dynasty Enterprises and sPanels
Adrian Hernandez, Dundee Bank
Natalie Huntley, JE Dunn
Jason Griffiths, UNL College of Architecture
Nate Jordan, Stephens & Smith Construction Co.
Cory Jenson, Holy Name Housing Corporation
Andrew Johnson, TD2
Brian Kelly, UNL College of Architecture
Marco Lade, AOI
Andrew Lang, Morrissey Engineering
Collette Lozier, Lozier Foundation
Erin Moran, Humanities Nebraska
Wayne Mortensen, Public Square Development Services
Jed Moulton, City of Omaha Planning Department
Aidan Posey, Front Porch Investments
Jerry Reif, Nebraska Innovation Studio
Hollie Schall, Pella Windows and Doors of Omaha and Lincoln
Todd Stubbendieck, AARP Nebraska
Chris Wallis, sPanels
Colby Vetter, JE Dunn
