North Star students view the aviation world through a glass-clad bifold door from Schweiss
by ciara_lalor-lindo | September 1, 2026 2:19 pm
Duncan Aviation[1] and North Star High School in Lincoln, Neb., have partnered to create the Aviation and Technical Education Focus Program[2], providing a pathway for students to pursue careers in aviation.
“We thought, what better way to help support the classroom, the labs, and the curriculum than building a hangar?” said Scott Wieskamp, director of operations at Lincoln Public Schools. “Duncan Aviation was offering to provide an airplane and parts and pieces, so we knew we needed the space to make the program successful.”
The aviation hangar and classroom expansion at the high school was designed by BVH Architecture[3] and constructed by Scheele-Kayton Construction[4].
“We wanted to create a setting, an environment for students to think about future careers and aviation,” says Cleve Reeves, principal and education design lead with BVH. “We wanted to think about what it might look like and feel like for them to work in a kind of real-life scenario.”
When it came to the hangar shop, Reeves said they wanted a space that made staff, students, and visitors feel like they were in a real hangar. A major piece of that equation was the hangar door, which provides an opening large enough to move a plane in and out of the space while showcasing the educational programming inside.
Schweiss Doors[5] was selected to provide the open hangar-style shop with a glass-clad bifold door measuring roughly 35 x 15-ft. It included safety features such as a top override switch, photo-eye sensors, warning lights, and a horn to ensure everyone’s safety around the door. It was also engineered to support a glass curtainwall system to show off activities inside the building.
“The school wanted to put education on display and show off what was going on inside there,” Reeves says. “It is creating a little bit of excitement around that program. It is fun to see.”
The aviation wing at North Star High School is an example of how the design and functionality of educational spaces has changed.
“Now it is much more about trying to replicate real-world experiences and settings, to help students think about what the next chapter of their life is, whether it’s a career or college,” Reeves says. “It’s definitely much more about collaboration and getting together.”
— With files from Schweiss Doors
- Duncan Aviation: https://www.duncanaviation.aero/locations/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23993211973&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpJ2Blr7NlgMVF4LCCB1vjhG2EAAYASAAEgILHvD_BwE
- Aviation and Technical Education Focus Program: https://aviation.lps.org/
- BVH Architecture: https://bvh.com/
- Scheele-Kayton Construction: https://www.scheelekayton.com/
- Schweiss Doors: https://www.bifold.com/
Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/projects/north-star-students-view-the-aviation-world-through-a-glass-clad-bifold-door-from-schweiss/