Spring is Here!

In keeping with Mattaforma's tradition of Solstice and Equinox newsletters, today feels like a particularly fitting moment to reach out. Happy first day of Spring! Beyond being a welcome temperature change, it’s been a season of real momentum for the practice.

Mattaforma is the recipient of the 2026 National Design Award for Emerging Designer from Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum! The award honors designers who have demonstrated profound talent in the early stages of their career to contribute to the future of design. I’m thrilled that the practice receive this recognition, especially alongside the wildly creative talent receiving awards in other categories. I wanted to share a special thanks to the jury, a group of internationally renowned leaders, designers, writers, and thinkers. And I wanted to share a big thank you to all of our clients and collaborators for their support over the years! To Public Records, Rancho Almasomos, Globizen, Monospace and to our private clients, thank you for believing in the mission of Mattaforma from the beginning.

Mattaforma has also been listed on the Twenty to Watch feature in Architect’s Newspaper! We love our relationship to this beautiful publication, and are very grateful to be on this issue’s cover along with 19 other fabulous architects.

La Sala (the Library), El Salon (the Game Room), the Biodynamic Barns and Subterranean Greenhouse at Rancho Almasomos are under construction! Right now, earth is being moved (albeit minimally) to level the ground for these structures, allow for animal trailers to be pulled safely along the hilly terrain and for water catchment systems to irrigate passively. We have successfully reclaimed materials from the existing structures including brick and stone, for new hearths. We successfully held those existing materials up to new materials in our visual mock up, and loved how the pink tones of the Douglas fir pick up the hues of the high iron content in the soil.

Rock of Faith Community, our affordable multi-family housing project in Indianapolis, successfully passed its first of three public hearings! As we head towards a successful rezoning to allow for housing, we’re thrilled to see that the city and the community align so well on how this project can bring more housing to the area, and can’t wait to start design once the rezoning is completed.

Wormy ash flooring has finally been ordered for our Bay Residence project! We’re thrilled to have Labrador Lumber sourcing northeastern white ash for us that specifically died from the wholly adelgid beetle. Much like beetle-killed pine, ash trees are experiencing a slow extinction in the northeast, and harvesting infected trees as quickly as possible prevents the spread of the pest and prevents potential forest fires from standing dead wood. Since this home is focused on teaching kids about our deep connection to nature, there is no better flooring for everyday life than this.