Architectural firm Mattaforma, founded by Lindsey Wikstrom and Jean Suh, is focused on creating a future in which buildings are designed in an ethical and equitable manner—from material choices to planning for deconstruction. Last spring, Wikstrom, who has taught at Columbia and Yale, published Designing the Forest and Other Mass Timber Futures, which explores the history and new possibilities of wood. Here, this duo share their ethos and what they hope for the future.
Going forward: Our firm is only a couple of years old, but we’ve already worked across all scales, from a 400-square-foot bar to a 33-acre Rhode Island community. We want to keep challenging ourselves with diverse projects.
Guiding ethos: We take our role in climate change seriously. The way we can make an impact is by lowering buildings’ energy usage, the energy required to make materials, and the energy used during a space’s lifetime.
End game: We design with deconstruction in mind, too. In thinking about 100 percent circularity (a means of lessening waste and emissions from demolition), there’s a new sense of planning for the end life of a structure.
Broad spectrum: Our portfolio includes neurodivergent classrooms for a high school in Queens; a New Jersey craftsman-style home where the idea of traditional layouts was rethought, and a mountain retreat for artists, writers and musicians in Park City, Utah.
