The new clubhouse at Ellis Golf Course in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been honored with a Regional Excellence Wood Design Award. The annual U.S. Wood Design Awards celebrates excellence in wood building design. Projects are judged by a jury …

The University of Iowa’s new College of Pharmacy building has earned LEED Silver certification. Complete in December 2019, the building was officially dedicated in 2021 due to COVID-19. The new 210,000-square-foot building replaced the 1960s College of Pharmacy …

We are excited to announce that Tate Walker, AIA, LEED Fellow, WELL AP,  has be promoted to Associate Principal, joining OPN’s leadership team. In his more than two-decades as an architect, Tate has established himself as a nationally …

The Marion Fire Station No. 1 has received an Excellence in Design Honor Award from AIA Iowa. This award recognizes excellent architectural projects designed by members of AIA Iowa that emphasize their importance in the community. Great works …

Krause Gateway Center in Des Moines Western Gateway has earned LEED Gold certification. The building was designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop in collaboration with OPN Architects and constructed by Ryan Companies with sustainable strategies such as: fully automated …

OPN is proud to be early adopter – honored recently with a new badge of commitment for 5+ years  – to the American Institute of Architects‘ 2030 Commitment. The voluntary pledge to achieve carbon-neutral buildings by 2030 challenges firms …

Designers make many decisions that directly affect a building’s impact on the environment.   One of the first – and potentially the most important – questions should be: “Is there an existing building we can use instead?” This is …

Architecture firms that made the commitment to the 2030 challenge were asked to create a Sustainability Action Plan within six months of joining the program. The process, which includes reevaluating priorities, workflows, and strategies, can seem like a …

Madison Fire Station 14 has been honored with an  Award of Excellence in Innovative Design, New Construction by the USGBC West North Central Region’s 2020 Community Leadership Award program. Fire Station 14, completed in the last few days of …

The new location for Madison Public Library’s Pinney Library branch has achieved LEED Gold certification. Guided by sustainable design principles and with LEED certification in mind,  the library’s Gold certification was based in large part to its energy …