The Seminary of Our Lady of Guadalupe is located near Lincoln, Nebraska. The building was designed for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, a recently established con-fraternity dedicated to teaching future Catholic priests the form and discipline of the old Latin Rite Mass. The complex is situated on the spur of a hill with wings nestled into adjacent ravines. The siting responds to varied soil conditions. The prominent site for the future church, for example, is being conditioned with a pool of water to alleviate dry soil conditions.

Visually, the goal is to create a building complex that appears to have always existed in this location. The prominent site is visible from a great distance to the west so the Church will be a readily identifiable beacon for the complex. The first phase of the project was dedicated December 2000.

A seminary functions as a microcosmic city for a religious community. The educational functions must be supported physically and the spiritual objectives conveyed symbolically. The entrance to the administrative and classroom wing is defined by a Romanesque type of portal within a gabled “frontispiece.” The corner of this structure is developed into a tower-like block that contains a library below the main floor Aula Magna. This and other building components, such as a dormitory wing, are differentiated by differences in form, color and articulation. A cloister binds the three functional wings together and provides refuge for contemplation.