City announces ADU Design Competition Winners

The winners have been announced in the City of Cedar Rapids' Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Design Competition.

Hosted by the City and with funding provided by AARP, the ADU Design Competition invited professionals and students to create detached Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) designs that support aging in place.

In Cedar Rapids, an estimated 35% of residents are age 50 or older. With this in mind, the ADU Design Competition was an opportunity to highlight ADUs as a viable housing option, foster a culture of age-friendly design, empower older residents to remain in their homes, and create a more inclusive, livable community for generations to come.

The call for designs closed on Friday, October 9, with 19 submissions received. Six winning designs were selected by a panel of volunteer judges with expertise in housing, architecture and zoning, downsizing/aging in place, and real estate. One additional design was selected by the public for a People's Choice award. No student submissions were received.

Urban Context, Suburban Context, and People's Choice awardees will receive a $3,600 stipend. Honorable Mention awardees will receive a $1,500 stipend.

Urban Context Awardees:

The Floret
Firm/Agency: Neumann Monson Architects
Designer(s): Andy Youngstrom, Mircea Nastase, and Nick Lindsley

Right Size the Downsize
Firm/Agency: C-Wise Design and Consulting LLC
Designer(s): Martha Norbeck

Suburban Context Awardees:

Square One ADU
Firm/Agency: Ross Land Studio
Designer(s): Natalie Ross

The Sidecar House
Firm/Agency: Lloyd Design Group
Designer(s): Maddy Reecy, Laura Devine, and Mark Masinelli

People's Choice Award:

Modular Suburban ADU
Firm/Agency: Lutz Rendering Service
Designer(s): Anton Lutz

Honorable Mention Awardees:

Core ADU (Urban Context Honorable Mention)
Firm/Agency: Actual Architecture Company
Designer(s): Jeffrey L. Day, Ashley Byars, Ethan Boerner, and Dennis Krymuza

Garden Edge (Suburban Context Honorable Mention)
Firm/Agency: Lasting Ground
Designer(s): Timothy Sullivan

The City hosted an ADU Design Showcase on Tuesday, November 10 to highlight the winning designs and share more about ADUs. The City looks to continue working with winning designers to further develop their concepts to a level suitable for permit review and/or promote how the designs could be licensed.

This continued collaboration helps ensure that the ADU designs can continue to grow and move toward real-world implementation in Cedar Rapids.

Accessory Dwelling Units
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are residential dwelling units that provide complete independent living facilities on the same parcel as a single-unit dwelling. They offer a flexible, lower-cost housing option that can help address the growing housing needs in communities like Cedar Rapids. ADUs can be:

• Internal (e.g., basement, attic, or side-by-side units)
• Attached (e.g., additions to the main house)
• Detached (e.g., backyard cottages or garage conversions)

ADUs were first permitted in Cedar Rapids in 2019 to support expanded housing options and affordability. At that time, only one ADU was permitted per lot and there were restrictive size requirements. Over the years, the City's ADU requirements have been amended to allow for more flexibility including larger ADU sizes, removing the need for a conditional use permit, and allowing two ADUs per lot.

In 2025 the state of Iowa took interest in ADUs. Now, under Iowa law, homeowners are permitted by right to add ADUs to their properties without needing special approval from a local zoning or planning board. Local governments are also unable to place requirements on ADUs that are stricter than those applied to the primary single-family home. The local and statewide support for ADUs supports opportunities for aging in place, intergenerational living, and boosting the local housing supply without altering neighborhood character.

Learn more about ADUs in Cedar Rapids on the City's ADU webpage or more generally from AARP.

This project was made possible for the community due to the generous support of AARP through the 2026 AARP Community Challenge grant. The AARP Community Challenge is a grant program to make tangible improvements in communities that jump-start long-term change. It is part of AARP's nationwide Livable Communities initiative, which supports the efforts of cities, towns, neighborhoods and rural areas to become great places to live for people of all ages. To learn more, visit AARP.org/Livable.