Environmental stewardship

Attentiveness

Tomorrow

mindedness

Innovation

Efficiency

LEED Consultant

Rio came to C-Wise by way of a stormy night in Texas. He has no formal architecture training, but he sure knows his way around a dog house! When he's not publishing scholarly articles on frost-protected shallow foundations, he's digging for moles and chasing bunnies.

Dog Extraordinaire

Alex is a LEED AP BD+C with a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Iowa State University and a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Colorado at Denver. Prior to joining C-Wise, Alex served as a commissioning engineer where she consulted on projects pursuing energy-efficient design and green building certifications. She has also worked in construction management for a design-build firm where she gained first-hand experience in building design and construction. 

Erin is a LEED AP BD+C. With a degree in environmental science from Lewis University and a background in activism, she got involved with the green building industry with C-Wise. Motivated by environmental protection and community improvement, she is excited to help projects capitalize on opportunities to decarbonize whenever possible and specializes in green product review.

C-Wise is short for carbon-wise. We believe carbon, the building block of life, lies at the intersection of humans and our built environment. We challenge projects to rethink their relationship with carbon while encouraging all in the building industry to handle carbon with care.

It is our mission to help project teams create built environments in a manner that deepens our respect for the natural world. We utilize green building practices as a vehicle for larger market change so we can design and operate greener buildings and communities.

All of our work is guided by the values at the core of our mission:

LEED Consultant

Martha Norbeck, LEED Fellow, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP, is the Founder and President of C-Wise Design and Consulting. She began her career as an architect and founded to C-Wise after seeing a gap in the green building market. In her 25-year career, Martha has displayed determination in accelerating the adoption of green building practices in Iowa and beyond. She has developed exceptional technical proficiency in LEED and in commercial and residential green building concepts; volunteered extensively for USGBC Iowa and other environmental organizations; engaged in numerous educational speaking and mentoring opportunities; and continues to tirelessly advocate for responsible environmental policies at the municipal and state level.

Martha has a broad background that includes ecology, women's studies, Fulbright research of Swedish Ecovillages, and a Masters of Architecture. She has served on the Iowa City Climate Action Steering Committe and is serving on the board of USGBC Iowa.

2008: C-Wise founded by architect and principal, Martha Norbeck

2020: Martha named a LEED Fellow

2024: 36-unit cohousing project in Iowa City achieves LEED Gold

2010: C-Wise certified our first LEED platinum building

LEED projects certified

LEED Platinum

LEED Gold

square feet of certified area