Commercial

Formosa

Iowa City – Plaza Towers
4000 sf

This unique Asian restaurant employs a crisp minimal aesthetic that merges with the traditional elements of communal Asian hot pot cooking. The drink bar and sushi bar are mirrored on either side of the central lounge, with the dining area located behind the sushi bar. Elements such as the reed screen and window treatments that mimic the visual effect of rain and give the space a sense of nature. Floor to ceiling glass wraps the space on two sides allowing views of the pedestrian plaza beyond.

hotelVetro

Iowa City – Plaza Towers
53,400 sf
Zagat Survey’s List of Top U.S. Hotels

Housed on levels 4 through 6 of Plaza Towers, this boutique hotel offers 56 large, extended stay guest rooms. Each guest room provides custom furniture, a full kitchenette, oversized baths and glass showers.  A bright open lobby, at street level, welcomes guests and residents. The facility also offers a full conference center with a grand ballroom and several smaller meeting venues.

ISB&T West Liberty

West Liberty, Iowa
4,900 sf
The design of this new branch bank integrates elements of the small rural town’s existing architecture. The building’s visual strength is a comfortable integration of high-tech and vernacular. The large window expanses of the building’s front and north-facing clerestory deliver an abundance of filtered daylight to the central space.

Joseph’s Steakhouse

Iowa City, Iowa
2800 sf

The transformation of this exiting casual restaurant into an intimate dining destination began by dissecting the open space with a series of mahogany and translucent glass partitions. This creates a series of private dining spaces, which are further divided by top-lit sheers. All sheers can be drawn back to allow larger table configurations.

Joseph’s Steakhouse and Lounge

West Des Moines, Iowa
15,200 sf

The design of this transformed restaurant builds on the success of the Joseph’s Iowa City renovation and introduces similar concepts on a larger scale. As in the Iowa City facility, the open plan was divided into dining rooms with glass and mahogany partitions, and then further divided by top-lit sheers for private dining quarters.  Here the large bar was transformed into a sleek lounge with dramatic amber lighting directed toward the existing vault ceiling.  The centerpiece of the lounge is the circular area at the end of the bar, which is surrounded by a veil of sheers and acts as the VIP area. 

moengroup office:

Iowa City, Iowa
1600 sf
2006 AIA Iowa Merit Award for Excellence in Design
2005 Gold Award, International Interior Design Association, Great Plains Chapter
Published in Iowa Architect, Issues 05:254 and 06:258

This small-scale office involved extensive renovations of an existing retail space.  The street façade was opened up dramatically to maximize visibility and admit as much as light as possible through the north side glazing. A full-height conference room is wrapped in translucent materials to allow daylight to penetrate the full depth of the space. Stairs a bar grate catwalk connect semi-private offices at the front and back of the second level.

Plaza Towers:

Iowa City, Iowa
221,000 sf
2006 AIA Iowa Honorable Mention Award for Excellence in Design
Published in Iowa Architect, Issues 05:257 and 06:258

This 14-story mixed-use urban development project includes a variety of commercial spaces (levels 1, 2 and 3), a boutique hotel (levels 4,5 and 6), apartments and condos ranging from 550 sf to 3200 sf (levels 7 through 14) and private underground parking. The building also provides a climate-controlled arcade just off of the pedestrian plaza with space for four-season casual seating and a third floor roof terrace.  Two-level penthouses include private roof terraces for outdoor living.