Studio Combine thrives on complex
problem-solving.
Studio Combine’s lean format enables us to operate with more efficiency, practice with greater agility, and pursue more productive relationships with clients. Our mission is to guide impactful design and help you realize your project’s potential. We listen closely, test vigorously, and boil decision-points down to clear, legible terms. Internal rigor smooths the process for the rest of the project team. Discussions, workshops, and design reviews are accessible and productive. In our experience, cool heads and comfortable competence foster a shared can-do attitude, no matter how daunting the challenge.
Andrew Ballard
Principal
Andrew Ballard has extensive architectural experience realizing high-end residences, crafting performance venues, developing food services, and planning flexible, landscape-oriented campus experiences. He supports the regional design community as Editor-in-Chief of Iowa Architect Magazine and cultivates the next generation as Associate Professor of Practice at Iowa State University, where he weaves urban and landscape-orient design into advanced undergraduate and graduate design studios. He advocates for affordable housing in Cedar, Iowa, Johnson, Washington, and Louisa counties as Board President of Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity. Originally from the foothills of North Carolina, Andrew received an A.B. in Architecture from Princeton University and a Masters in Architecture from UC Berkeley. Andrew founded Studio Combine in 2020 to focus on intensive, meaningful projects locally and nationally.
Jim Zeller
Design, BIM Management
Originally from Illinois, Jim earned a B.Arch from Iowa State University while taking an interest in computational design and contributing to DATUM, the school’s architecture publication. He has since worked his way around the Midwest contributing to a host of local and national projects. He brings a wealth of experience to the team in terms of design, documentation, and collaborative coordination. Jim deepens Studio Combine’s capacity to efficiently execute larger, more complex projects. He has played a key role in mixed-use projects such as The Edge and The Nest Pedestrian Mall Development in Iowa City as well as institutional projects as the Kinnick Stadium North End-Zone Addition. Based in Minneapolis, Jim takes a continued active interest in computational design and computer scripting.
Gautam Pradeep
Design, Visualization
Gautam brings a nimble intelligence and diverse academic, cultural, and professional experience to Studio Combine. He made his way to Iowa from India via Dubai, where he spent much of his young adulthood. At Iowa State, Gautam minored in sustainability as an undergraduate and published his graduate thesis on responsive architectural daylighting systems. He contributed computational design and digital fabrication to faculty research and served as a Graduate Student Instructor for Professional Practice. After graduating he returned as Assistant Professor of Practice to lead a third-year design studio. Gautam has been involved with local artistic initiatives, including working with artist Reinaldo Correa as a designer for public art projects like the Nature of the Game exhibit for Reiman Gardens in Ames. He currently serves as Associate Editor for Iowa Architect Magazine, for which he also contributes writing.
H.A. White General Store and House
Headquarters
Our HQ is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. We absolutely love this building. It deeply informs our thoughts on time and place. The store’s central portion was completed in 1876. At least three additions were built in subsequent years to support North Liberty’s only commercial enterprise between 1876 and 1889. H.A. White served as the local postmaster here from 1877 through 1888 and Dr. James Polk Von Stein boarded and had his office from 1879 to 1891. Per North Liberty’s Comprehensive Plan, the City intends to restore our neighborhood as a walkable, medium-density heart. Studio Combine and our neighbors are very much in tune with this goal. Looking forward to what we can create together.
Inigo Montoya
Technical Support(?)
Inigo is an unpaid intern landshark and brings with him no experience whatsoever. The labrador retriever pup is currently in charge of chewing through electrical cords, shredding cardboard boxes, and performing whatever the opposite is of janitorial services. With remarkable improvement over the last few months, Inigo is expected to soon gain the responsibility of just chilling the heck out. He leads the office in sitting and shaking. Customer service is second to none...unless those customers are cat people, which can’t be helped. His zoomies are quite fast and he is quite cuddly.