Listening, then designing

COVID’s work-from-home disruption prompted Neumann Monson Architects to reconsider its workspace.

“We opened it up a little more, to be more informal,” Tim Schroeder said as he showed a visitor around its headquarters in downtown Iowa City’s Plaza Towers.

Surrounded by ample windows allowing for natural light, the open-plan space has conference and “focus” rooms around its perimeter for phone calls and virtual meetings. There’s a media studio where the firm’s Everything Architecture online series is produced.

“It gives us a chance to rethink about what the workplace really is,” said Dave Zahradnik, a company principal and vice president. “We used to have a lot more cubicles and a lot more ‘me’ space involved our work areas. Now there’s a lot less ‘me’ space and a lot more ‘we’ space. We have these forums and areas to gather when we need to work together. Otherwise, we might as well be working from home.”

The redesign didn’t include a corner office for Schroeder, the firm’s president. Instead, he works from a desk like those of the 35 staff who work there. Another 13 work in the Des Moines office, opened in 2010.

Schroeder points out details like the blond wood topping storage cabinets and work desks.

“We really carefully looked at the materials used,” said Schroeder. “We used all locally-harvested ash that was harvested within Iowa City because of the ash borer.”

Another workplace development, artificial intelligence tools, supplements but don’t supplant staff design work.

“The primary use at the moment is for messaging and writing,” said architect/principal Nick Lindsley. “We’re not taking ideas from the AI, but doing our first drafts and making that process more efficient. We see a lot of those image generation tools out there, which we’re not using as much. We still want to make sure we have our hand on things.”

Renovations and repurposing were an early specialty for Neumann Monson, founded in 1977 by Roy Neumann, Kevin Monson, Rick Caruth, and Dennis (Max) Miller.

“Some of our first projects were modest courthouse remodels as legislation on accessibility standards emerged,” said Schroeder.

Building renovations account for much of the industry, making up more than half of work done nationwide, Schroeder said.

Schroeder joined the firm in 1994, after an internship there while studying at Iowa State University. He became its president in 2018, during the founding principals’ retirements between 2011 and 2022.

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“We began a transition from a founder-led firm to a purpose-led organization,” Schroeder said.“We incrementally decentralized decision-making through what we call strategic teams. These are self-led, self-formed groups that anyone in the firm can join to help continuously evolve our practice.”

The teams focus on core areas of design and client and employee experience, with smaller groups addressing specific goals in each area. The approach helps build client relationships.

“We’re trying to listen, not direct,’ said Sally Obernolte, architect and principal. “It’s listening to what all their needs and ideas are, that’s what forms those guiding principles.”

During the transition the firm continued its relationship with the University of Iowa, “our longest and strongest partnership,” according to Schroeder.

Beginning with a temporary transit structure on campus and several smaller renovations, the firm’s first large-scale campus project was the early 1990s Pappajohn Business Building, followed by the renovation and expansion at the College of Engineering.

Neumann Monson has since designed renovations and expansions at Kinnick Stadium, Carver Hawkeye Arena, Beckwith Boathouse, and the wrestling program’s practice facilities. It’s also designed the south end zone at ISU. From-the-ground-up projects include University of Iowa Health Care buildings at Iowa River Landing and its North Liberty campus, and the Voxman Music Building.

Notable Des Moines projects include Market One, 111 East Grand, and the renovation of 142 former barracks at historic Fort Des Moines into affordable housing using geothermal heating and stormwater management to consume just 35 percent of the energy used by a comparable conventional building.

The firm has designed schools in the Pella and Western Dubuque districts and city facilities for Iowa City and Coralville. Private projects in downtown Iowa City include Whiteway 2000, Vogel House, Plaza Towers, and Park@201.

The American Institute of Architects has recognized Neumann Monson projects with its Committee on the Environment (COTE) awards in 2021, 2022, and 2025, as well as regional and state AIA awards.

Schroeder doesn’t think the firm has developed a distinct visual style.

“Every project should unfold from the needs and values of the people it serves,” he said. “Our role is to listen, bring clarity, and shape something authentic to its place and purpose. That said, there’s probably a quiet consistency to our work—an emphasis on simplicity and restraint.”

Zahradnik said the firm applies “empathy mapping” in its process.

“We walk through the experiences (the end user) is going to have,” he said. “How are they going to experience this? We develop 20 or 30 different personas and we walk them through the experience as we’re working through the design: does this help that person?”

Schroeder attributes the firm’s continued success to its collaborative approach and emphasis on “living building” design philosophy.

“Every project starts by making sure we understand our clients,” Schroeder said. “Once that foundation of trust is in place, collaboration becomes easier.”

“It’s finding that alignment and making sure we’re aligned with them, because we’re not the right architectural firm for every client,” said Zahradnik. “We have to do some vetting to be sure the services we’re going to provide are going to be valued, and they’re going to see the value of what we’re doing.”

Living building design principles are promoted through the Portland (Ore.)-based non-profit International Living Future Institute. Similar to the better-known Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, Living Building is the “most rigorous and holistic option” for sustainable, low-impact design.

“It’s something that is trying to be regenerative, rather than being less bad,” said Obernolte. “There are codes in place that we all have to follow, and the certification program does help you try to be better than code. It’s net-zero in energy, net zero on water.”

The showpiece for the firm’s living building work is the Stanley Center for Peace and Security in Muscatine. Opened in 2023, the building houses the non-profit’s staff who work toward “just and sustainable solutions to critical global peace and security challenges,” according to the center’s website. The center’s offices and public spaces were built around the city’s former public library, which sat abandoned for several years.

“This was an opportunity to reinvigorate the neighborhood and revitalize things and bring a high-end institution to the heart of the city,” Zahradnik said.

“They even tried to auction it off, with no result,” Schroeder said. “It was a relief: someone’s going to do something with it and not just tear it down and be a parking lot in the middle of town, but actually rejuvenate everything downtown.”

The project reused 95 percent of the old library’s structure and is completely self-sufficient, thanks to its solar array and a system that captures rainwater to supply all the building’s needs Nearly half the new construction materials came from within about 300 miles of Muscatine – including wood harvested from felled ash trees.

The center is on track to receive Living Building Challenge certification.

“This will only be the second certified building in the world done as a renovation project,” said Zahradnik. “There are 36 or 37 with full certification, so it’s a fairly rare thing.”

The Stanley Center drew upon and helped grow the firm’s collaborative approach, according to Lindsley.

“We have talked to a couple clients who understand what living building is and see the potential of that aligning really well with their values,” he said. “We can apply that more to a facilities plan and get more of a sense of what that could mean in the future.”