2012 Merit Awards
Unique in its approach to creating a jury, these awards encompass the views of business professionals, real estate developers, community advocates, and academic leaders as well as architects. The Merit Awards are bestowed to projects by AIA Minneapolis architects that tell a “story of excellence beyond design,” reflecting the variety of forces that shape a building.

The awards will be presented at the AIA Minneapolis luncheon on Thursday, June 21, 2012.

Register here

2011 Winners::
AECOM’s Youth Opportunity Center at YouthLink, a remodel for a Minneapolis multi-service network of agencies collaborating to address needs of homeless, precariously housed and marginalized youth.

Elness Swenson Graham Architects’ W Hotel, The Foshay Tower, a downtown Minneapolis historic preserved conversion of an obelisk into a trendy and hip hotel that inspires innovative style in a soaring icon of art deco splendor. (at right)

James Dayton Design’s Highpoint Center for Printmaking, a one-story renovation for a non-profit dedicated to advancing the art of printmaking in Minneapolis.

RSP Architects’ City of Minneapolis Hiawatha Maintenance Facility, renovated and preserved, this is the first LEED Platinum public works maintenance facility in the country.

See the full 2011 Merit Awards Press Release (PDF)

2010 Winners:
Miller Dunwiddie Architecture, Inc.’s Silverwood Park Visitor Center, a multi-purpose northwoods-style facility on the shores of Silver Lake, St. Anthony, MN.

Ellerbe Becket, Inc.’s (an AECOM Company) Park Nicollet Melrose Institute, a leading-edge, quality eating disorder treatment facility in St. Louis Park, MN.

Miller Dunwiddie Architecture, Inc.’s Mabel Tainter Memorial Theater, a newly restored and renovated arts center located in Menomonie, WI.

Kodet Architectural Group’s Calvin Christian School, a1950’s box school transformation into a dynamic K-5 educational facility in Edina, MN.

View the 2010 AIA Minneapolis Merit Award Press Release (PDF)

For reference: 2010 AIA Minneapolis Merit Award Entry Form (PDF)

2009 Winners:

Amherst H. Wilder Foundation Headquarters Office, a vibrant and welcoming campus for the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, located on Lexington Parkway and University Avenue in Saint Paul, Perkins+Will.

Saint Anthony Mills Apartments, seamlessly integrated building that meets the need for workforce housing in one of the premier rediscovered neighborhoods in Minneapolis, Elness Swenson Graham Architects, Inc. (ESG).

Church of St. Peter Addition and Renovation, combined new church with remodeling of existing church to meet long-range needs of parish and school in North Saint Paul, Miller Dunwiddie Architecture.

Great River Energy Headquarters, new headquarters office building that serves as a model of electric efficient building solutions that could be effectively adopted across the state located in Maple Grove, Perkins+Will.

Cristo Rey Jesuit High School/Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center, state-of-the-art shared facility on East Lake Street and Fourth Avenue in South Minneapolis, Ryan Companies, US, Inc. (pictured at right)

2009 Jury:
Ozayr Saloojee, University of Minnesota, School of Architecture
Sam Black, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
Charles Liddy, Jr., AIA, Miller Dunwiddie Architects
Marc Johannsen, Lommen Abdo
Marlene Dieterich, Wells Fargo Commercial Real Estate Lending

View the 2009 Merit Awards Press Release (pdf)

2008 WINNERS:

Ripley Gardens, mixed-income housing redevelopment in the Harrison Neighborhood of Minneapolis, LHB, Inc.

Project for Pride in Living (PPL) Service Center abandoned building transformation into a non-profit agency serving low-income residence at 1035 East Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis, DJR Architecture, Inc.

Westin Minneapolis Hotel, hotel created in the nationally historic Farmer’s and Mechanic’s Bank building on the corner of 6th and Marquette in downtown Minneapolis, Elenss Swenson Graham Architects, Inc. (ESG)

Adopt A Room, two renewed and better models for the design of hospital rooms for long-term child patients at the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital Fairview in Minneapolis, Perkins+Will

MacPhail Center for Music, state of the art music teaching facility located in the Historic Mill District in downtown Minneapolis, James Dayton Design, Ltd.

2008 Jury:
Robert Ferguson, University of Minnesota, School of Architecture
Brent Mareck, City of Winsted Administrator
Christine Ledbetter, Star Tribune
Mary Shaffer, AIA, Target Corporation
James Lasher, LSA Design, Inc.