Great Plains lecture reviews architecture of Saskatchewan

Bernard Flaman
Bernard Flaman

The rolling grasslands that flood through the Great Plains begin north of the border in Canada's Saskatchewan province. Similar geography and culture connect the northern prairie to the rest of the Great Plains region.

In the spring, author Bernard Flaman won the 2014 Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize for his work, "Architecture of Saskatchewan: A Visual Journey, 1930-2011." He was the first Canadian author to win the prize. Flaman will travel to Lincoln to speak about his book and Great Plains architecture at the second Paul A. Olson lecture of the year at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 22.

Flaman is a conservation architect, member of the Saskatchewan Association of Architects and member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. Flaman will expand on projects illustrated in the book and share thoughts on a possible future for Great Plains architecture.

"Part of the (book) title includes the phrase 'A Visual Journey' and indeed the photographs and drawings contained in the book tell a major part of the story. Inevitably, they show the context, landscape, sky and light of the Great Plains as well as the architecture of the province of Saskatchewan," Flaman said. "The best buildings in the book illustrate a material connection and a relationship with the landscape and environment of the Great Plains."

Flaman will speak in the main gallery of the Great Plains Art Museum in downtown Lincoln. The talk is free and open to the public.

For more information, visit the Center for Great Plains Studies' website at http://www.unl.edu/plains/welcome.