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Phius (Passive House Institute US) certification is a high-performance building certification that aims to achieve extremely low energy use through energy-efficient design, also known as the Passive House concept. Passive strategies such as a thermal-bridge-free enclosure, continuous insulation throughout the building enclosure, and high-performance glazing help the space maximize efficiency and cost-effectiveness, no matter the climate zone or building type.

In 2025, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) released guidance for architecture firms looking to increase sustainable business practices and to continue improving their process. Firms were encouraged to create a Sustainability Action Plan (SAP) to document their current sustainable routines and brainstorm future action that could be taken to improve the firm's sustainability.

Bur Oak Land Trust is an Iowa City-based nonprofit working to “advance biodiversity in Eastern Iowa by protecting resilient landscapes and connecting people to nature.” Since its founding in 1978, they have protected a total of 877 acres of land in Eastern Iowa, including 491 acres owned by the Trust and the remaining 386 acres protected through conservation easements.

On September 23, 2026, Iowa Valley’s Habitat for Humanity held a dedication ceremony celebrating the completion of a newly built home in Iowa City. The solar-powered, single-level home was designed to prioritize accessibility for the family’s youngest son, who uses a wheelchair.

Neumann Monson is proud to announce that three of our projects have been awarded with Central States Region Design Awards. Focused on work from Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, the awards recognize the “highest quality design, informed by the AIA Framework for Design Excellence, [progressing] toward a zero-carbon, healthy, just, resilient, and equitable built environment.”

If you're looking to give your music education program space to grow, a new facility is a great place to start. A good building can give students a free-thinking space to make great art and offer them the resources to practice and grow their skills, while giving them educationally-focused areas to attend lectures and complete coursework. But with the variety of musical instruments, genres, and areas of study, how can you effectively distill all these needs into a single structure?

A regenerative community is one that actively improves the health and well-being of people and the environment by restoring and strengthening interdependent systems. Regenerative communities go beyond sustainability by aiming to give back more than they take, creating positive outcomes that allow people, places, and ecosystems to thrive.

Sustainable Material Selection begins with understanding a client's goals and values. Those priorities shape the design and help determine which materials are the right fit for their project.

A great architecture project should reflect its place and time, in a way that feels authentic to the culture that surrounds it. Culture means many things to many different people: it can be the shared values and beliefs of those living in the same place, it can be the comradery of coworkers who go to work at the same place, or it can even be the heritage of groups of individuals whose families relocated from the same region of the world.