substance Architecture

Congratulations to the finalists and winners of the 2026 Substance Design Forum Student Award. It was a privilege to recognize such thoughtful, provocative, and ambitious work from the 2025 studios at Iowa State University.

Special congratulations to Dismantled Origins by Aiden Hodge and Michael Hull, this year’s winning project.

Thank you to the jurors, faculty, and students for making this year’s forum such a strong exchange of ideas.
arch Iowa State University

We’re always inspired by opportunities to learn from the best in design.

Thanks to our friends at Pigott, two members of our interiors team visited the MillerKnoll headquarters and archives—home to over one million objects from Herman Miller, Knoll, and more.

From iconic furniture to rare prototypes, the experience offered a powerful look at the evolution of modern design—and where it’s headed next.

Yasmine and Samia returned to the studio with fresh inspiration and a deeper appreciation for how great design continues to shape the way we live and work.

Thank you, Pigott and MillerKnoll , for the warm welcome!

3LP Residence

This project is a focused renovation of a 1980s home set within a wooded, exurban site. While the house offered generous volume and daylight, its interior had become compartmentalized and disconnected from its surroundings over time.

Rather than reworking the home entirely, the design builds on what was already there. Existing structure and organization were retained, while selective removal of interior partitions opened the plan into clear, continuous “slices” of space from front to back.

Strategic interventions, including new wall-to-wall openings, windows, and doors, reconnect the interior to the wooded site and redefine the entry experience. Inserted elements such as the stair, loft, and kitchen bring clarity and precision to the existing volumes without competing with them.

A restrained palette of oak, steel, and quartz unifies old and new, allowing the renovation to feel cohesive while still revealing the transformation.

The result is a house that maintains its original character but performs in a more open, contemporary way.

UNI Multimodal Transportation Center
Designed through collaboration and shaped by its context, this project reflects a careful balance between infrastructure and campus life.

Located on a former parking lot and residential site, the facility is integrated into the natural slope to reduce its visual impact and align with adjacent residence halls. A palette of brick and perforated copper-toned screening reinforces continuity with the surrounding campus while giving the structure a distinct identity.

Beyond parking, the center strengthens connections—linking students, faculty, and visitors to campus, the Panther Shuttle, regional transit, and adjacent trail system. Enhancements to West 23rd Street further extend the project’s impact into the broader Cedar Falls community.

Developed in collaboration with the Federal Transit Administration and the City of Cedar Falls, the project demonstrates how coordinated partnerships can support functional, context-sensitive infrastructure.