Substance Architecture is a collaborative Midwest architecture firm dedicated to improving lives and communities through thoughtful design. Substance works to bring beauty to utility, pulling from diverse expertise to find clarity in complex design challenges. By meaningfully engaging with our clients, we create spaces that go beyond mere function to capture a deeper sense of place and purpose. Our approach explores many versions of an idea, carefully editing it to find a solution that often feels intuitive. We believe in less, but better. Teamwork and curiosity are at our core—drawing upon the collective knowledge of everyone in our studio, listening to and actively engaging our clients, and integrating our consultants’ expertise to guide a design process that provides our clients with beautiful, purposeful, and affordable designs. This transparent and respectful approach has resulted in a broad portfolio of successfully built work and, more importantly, long-lasting relationships.