The next time you find yourself walking up (or down) a flight of stairs, think of Zach Klebba.
When creatively stuck and looking for a little design inspiration, the Omaha-based architect with Leo A Daly goes backs to basics and searches online for, quite literally, sets of stairs.
โBy code they have to be 7 inches tall by 11 inches deep,โ Klebba explained. โYou start to feel as a designer that thereโs only one way to design stairs. And then you go online or visit a building and you see the millions of different ways that people have designed stairs. And I use that as a springboard for another design project.โ
It could be said that Klebbaโs professional successes and community achievements have happened just like those stairs: one step at a time.
Klebbaโs selection as a recipient of Midlands Business Journalโs 40 Under 40 last year highlighted the breadth and depth of his work, his creativity, and his passion for Omaha.
Born in Fairbanks, Alaska (although his birth certificate really does list the North Pole), Klebba, his twin brother, and their parents moved a handful of times around the country. Klebbaโs father served in the Air Force and later worked in construction, which found the family of four living in Maryland, Virginia, and Colorado. They eventually settled in greater Omaha to be closer to family.
Following graduation from high school in Gretna, Klebba, now 32, enrolled at UNO with an undeclared major. A year later, with little focus on a field of study, Klebba joined his brother at UNL.
The first few semesters as a Cornhusker found Klebba enrolled in English and journalism classes and considering a news editorial degree. But an architecture course changed the remainder of Klebbaโs UNL careerโand his life. He dove into this new professional passion, earning bachelorโs and masterโs degrees in the field with no break in between.
Shortly before graduation, Klebba used his creativity to attract the attention of Leo A Daly, one of many architecture firms represented at UNL for a one-day career fair. Klebba created a postcard featuring his photograph, design history, and an overview of his graduate school project. Following a brief conversation at UNL, Klebba drove to Omaha soon after for an interview that lasted several hours.
Within the week, Leo A Daly offered Klebba a full-time job, which he accepted shortly
before graduation.
In the seven years since, Klebba has collaborated on design projects such as the Cloisters on the Platte religious retreat center, the Blackstone Hotel in Omaha, and the Wynn Hotel Casino and Resort in China.
It was Klebbaโs community involvement that made him a solid candidate to join Leo A Daly. That volunteer work, on initiatives big and small, remains a sizable part of Klebbaโs life today.
He founded the Omaha Midnight Run in 2011 to raise money for local charitable causes and has volunteered for the American Heart Association, the Greater Omaha Young Professionals Summit, and Glad Tidings (now Good News) Church. He has served on the AIA Nebraska Board of Directors, the Greater Omaha Young Professionals Council, and was a member of Leadership Omaha Class 39. Heโs an avid runner and finds great enjoyment in competitive sports of all kindsโincluding volleyball.
โZach loves people and brings people together,โ said Chris Johnson, vice president and managing principle with Leo A Daly. โHe always offers a unique perspective that is inviting, engaging, authentic, and fun. Zach is dependable and can always be counted on to give his all.โ
Klebbaโs professional and community contributions have remained consistent since landing in Omaha, a city he wants to call home for the foreseeable future. At 32, he brushes off the millennial label, instead embracing an โold schoolโ work ethic of loyalty, teamwork, and commitment, remarking: โThe grass is not always greener elsewhere.โ
โI never took for granted what makes Omaha special,โ he said. โFor me, itโs that blend of small enough to know people, big enough to offer some of the resources of a larger city. There are plenty of things to do here if youโre willing to look for them.โ
This article was printed in the June/July 2020 issue of B2B Magazine.