Join Cooper Hewitt for a talk with Emerging Designer winner Mattaforma–the latest program in a new series spotlighting the 2026 National Design Award winners in conversation with Director Maria Nicanor.
Mattaforma is a New York–based architecture and research studio founded by Lindsey Wikstrom that is redefining sustainable design through mass-timber innovation and healthy materials. Through writing, teaching, and advocacy, the studio invites policymakers, schoolchildren, and neighbors to co-author plant-based futures where climate action is tangible, communal, and joyful.
In this monthly series, Maria Nicanor, Director of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, sits down with the 2026 National Design Award winners for one‑on‑one conversations at the museum. Spanning design disciplines and the ten award categories, each talk offers an inside look at the innovation, practice, and vision behind the work of this year’s winners.