Above: The eight winners of the 2025 AIA Minneapolis Merit Awards.

Unique in their approach to creating a jury, these awards encompass the views of business professionals, real estate developers, community advocates, and academic leaders in addition to architects.  The Merit Awards were established to recognize projects by AIA Minneapolis architects that:

  • Tell the story of excellence beyond design
  • Emphasize public interest design
  • Embrace the varied forces that shape a building

The Michael L. Schrock, AIA, distinction to the Merit Award was created in 2008, in honor of the architect whose passion helped develop the AIA Minneapolis Awards. This distinction is awarded to the project that most embodies the philosophy of the AIA Minneapolis Merit Awards.

The submission window for the 2025 AIA Minneapolis Merit Awards is now closed. The next window will open in early April 2026.

Eligibility

All projects designed by AIA Minneapolis Chapter registered architects and firms. Projects must be complete by the time of the deadline for submittal. Projects themselves may be located anywhere in the world. Firms of all sizes are encouraged to submit. Projects that have been previously submitted are welcome. Previous AIA Minnesota Honor Award project winners are not eligible. Merit Award winning projects are not excluded from AIA Minnesota Honor Awards.

Selection Criteria

The Merit Award jurors will evaluate projects based on how well they respond to the selection criteria:

Client

Level of success as determined by how well the design supports the health and wellbeing of the client or user; promoting occupant comfort, connection to nature, and/or a healthy lifestyle. Level of success from thoughtful strategies involving discovery and delight and/or lessons learned from previous projects.

Community

How the project addresses critical social, economic and/or environmental needs of the community while reflecting a diversity of values while promoting human connections, at a human scale.

Environment

How the project reduces its burden on the environment and dependence on fossil fuels through informed material selection i.e. locally sourced materials & craft; responsible watershed; design resiliency and livability all while benefitting flora and fauna.

Economics

How and to what extent the project addresses issues of economic development by adding value for owners and occupants regardless of the project size and budget; a project which provides abundance while living within its means.

Innovation

Unique technologies employed to meet the expectations of the program, pulling from the grass roots of its organization.

Submissions must be anonymous. If any authorship is revealed on any images or project summaries viewed by the jury, the entry will be disqualified.

The primary philosophy of these awards is the focus on the story of a project. The project description should share that story through the above listed criteria. Your story is compelling and may be a bit different than expected – celebrate and honor the story your building has to tell!

Process

Merit Awards Jury
The jury composition for this award is one of the key factors that makes this award unique. Jury members will be comprised of business, real estate, community and academic leaders, as well as architects. 

Submission Requirements

Submissions must include the following:

  • Completed Entry Form
  • Project summary narrative (200-250 words)
  • One-page project description which provides a narrative on how the project responds to the criteria listed above
  • Feedback from the end users, (quotes, letters, articles, etc.) 
  • 8–12 photographs, prints and/or drawings (jpg format). At least one image showing the site context

To better understand the story, the jury will – if possible – visit the projects that are short listed. When it is not feasible or gatherings in person are not advised, the jury can decide based on the materials submitted, and/or connect with the office of the architect, users, and/or clients. 

$25 entry fee per entry

Award Presentation

The Merit Awards will be presented at an AIA Minneapolis lunch event in July. More details will be listed here soon. 

Questions?

If you have any questions or concerns related to the AIA Minneapolis Merit Award process, please email AIA Minnesota staff liaison Chris Hudson or call (612) 767-1746.

2025 AIA Minneapolis Merit Awards

The eight AIA Minneapolis Merit Awards recipients for 2025 are:

  • Belfry Apartments and Mixed Use in Minneapolis, designed by UrbanWorks Architecture. This reimagining of the historic Calvary Lutheran Church site as a community for residents earning at or below 30 percent of annual median income (AMI) consists of a sanctuary restoration, the adaptive reuse of the church’s education and office wing into 21 deeply affordable apartments, and a new 20-unit residential building.
  • Lake Elmo City Center in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, designed by Leo A Daly. This project transformed an outdated office building and more than doubled its size with two new wings, creating a new hub of community activity. The new facility provides enhanced wellness for city staff, vastly improved public-safety readiness, and increased access for residents of Lake Elmo.
  • Minneapolis American Indian Center in Minneapolis. On this project, Cuningham worked as a consultant to Full Circle Indigenous Planning + Design and was responsible for project design. A cornerstone of the American Indian Cultural Corridor on Franklin Avenue since its opening in 1975, the MAIC had been flagging prior to a multi-year renovation and expansion. The transformation, completed in 2024, has enabled the organization to return to its roots in cultural programming and expand its services. This project received the additional honor of being selected a winner of the 2025 Michael L. Schrock Merit Award.
  • Moona Moono in Minneapolis, designed by Keep. This thoughtful renovation of a shuttered stationery store into a cafe and retail space celebrates Asian American and Asian culture. Pegboard and maple plywood paneling add warmth to the environment while a light frame draped with cotton fabric bounces light deep into the floor space.
  • Oxbow Park Nature Center in Byron, Minnesota, designed by Alliiance. This new 13,100-square-foot building is designed to enhance environmental education, wellness, and recreation in southeastern Minnesota. Replacing the park’s original 1981 building, the facility offers modern, accessible spaces that expand capacity and programming for schools, community groups, and families throughout the region.
  • Rudd Public Library in Rudd, Iowa, designed by OPN Architects. In late 2021, the small town of Rudd in north central Iowa suffered widespread damage from an EF1 tornado, including the decimation of the public library. Rebuilt on a new site next to the community’s recreation center, this new 1,800-square-foot library makes the most of its small footprint with simple massing and materials, openness, and daylighting. This project received the additional honor of being selected a winner of the 2025 Michael L. Schrock Merit Award.
  • Wake Tech Community College Public Safety Facility in Wendell, North Carolina, designed by Leo A Daly. This 77,000-square-foot facility is both a gateway building for a new campus and a state-of-the-art training facility for future first responders and regional public safety agencies. It features a full indoor simulation village with a realistic streetscape for multidisciplinary scenario and de-escalation training.
  • We Are Sharing Hope SC in Charleston, South Carolina, designed by RSP Architects. This new headquarters for an organization that provides life-saving organ, eye, and tissue donation is designed to be a serene respite in harmony with nature for staff, donor families, and the wider community. The complex includes a training center, administrative offices, a clinical wing, public spaces, and an extensive garden with meandering walking paths.


View the full press release.

2024 AIA Minneapolis Merit Awards

The six 2024 AIA Minneapolis Merit Awards recipients are:

  • Barkley Regional Airport Terminal in West Paducah, Kentucky, designed by Alliiance. As a gateway to the region, the new terminal serves critical economic needs by facilitating travel and tourism and exemplifies how small terminals can have big impacts by embodying the values of hospitality, community pride, and connection to nature.
  • Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health Building in Bismarck, North Dakota, designed by Leo A Daly. The first permanent home for Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health, this facility combines with the neighboring Bismarck Public Works Facility to form a new visually unified public campus to connect the community to public services.
  • Luminary Arts Center in Minneapolis, designed by Shelter Architecture. This newly rebranded performance space with 30-foot-high ceilings is carved out of the foundation of a historic warehouse. Its new owner, the Minnesota Opera, and other groups present an eclectic mix of thought-provoking productions in the space.
  • Peregrine in Minneapolis, designed by UrbanWorks Architecture. This sustainable, mixed-use, affordable housing project aims to repurpose its high-profile riverfront location into a community asset. Its 163 units, ranging in size from one to four bedrooms, serve diverse household types and address a significant housing need within the city.
  • Southeast Community College (SCC) Health Sciences Building in Lincoln, Nebraska, designed by Perkins&Will. This building has had an enormous impact on the SCC community and the region by increasing the school’s capacity to provide highly trained professionals in fields currently experiencing workforce shortages, including nursing, radiography, and respiratory therapy.
  • V3 Sports Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, designed by LSE Architects. Fulfilling V3’s mission to train youth to compete in triathlons, this new 35,000-square-foot facility serves as a gateway to North Minneapolis with a dynamic façade that opens the five-lane, 25-yard pool to the street and a “main street” lobby with a dynamic blue stair and a community mural. This project received the additional honor of being selected the winner of the 2024 Michael L. Schrock Merit Award.


View the full press release.

2023 Recipients

LEO A DALY’s Anoka-Ramsey Community College School of Nursing and Business
Alliiance’s Center for Performing Arts Addition
JLG Architects’ Frogtown Community Center
Bentz Thompson Rietow’s Hennepin County North Regional Library Refurbishment
LEO A DALY’s Minnesota Historical Society Historic Fort Snelling Historic Restoration and Visitor Center
Alliiance’s MnDOT Safety Rest Areas at Clear Lake and Des Moines River (this project received the additional honor of being selected for the 2023 Michael L. Schrock Merit Award)

View the full press release.

2022 Recipients

Bentz Thompson Rietow’s Fergus Falls Public Library Addition and Remodel
LEO A DALY’s Hennepin County Medical Examiner
JLG Architects’ White Bear Lake Sports Center Renovation
Cuningham and Full Circle Indigenous Planning’s Mino-Bimaadiziwin Apartments (this project received the additional honor of being selected for the 2022 Michael L. Schrock Merit Award)

View the 2022 Minneapolis Merit Award press release.

2021 Recipients

Busch Architects, Inc.’s Cedar Riverside Opportunity Center
Ryan A+E, Inc.’s Downtown East Urban Master Plan
UrbanWorks Architecture’s Guild Crisis and Recovery Center 
Perkins&Will’s Mankato Clinical Sciences Building at Minnesota State University 
Miller Dunwiddie’s Silver Ramp 
LEO A DALY’s Second Harvest Heartland Headquarters, Volunteer Center and Distribution Center

View the 2021 Minneapolis Merit Award press release.

2020 Minneapolis Merit Award Recipients

LEO A DALY’s Anoka County Centennial Library Renovation and Expansion
MacDonald & Mack Architect’s Arvonne Fraser Library
Perkins and Will’s Land O’Lakes Headquarters Expansion
Ryan A+E, Inc.’s Millwright Building at Downtown East
Alliiance’s University of Minnesota John T. Tate Hall Renovation
Alliiance’s University Enterprise Laboratories Renovation and Addition
UrbanWorks Architecture’s Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Center for Adult Learning

View the 2020 Minneapolis Merit Award press release.

2019 Minneapolis Merit Award Recipients

Bell Museum, Perkins and Will 
Lora, ESG Architecture & Design
Target Center Renovation, Alliance
YouthLink and Project for Pride in Living, UrbanWorks Architecture LLC
Hennepin County Webber Park Library, Lawal Scott Erickson (LSE) Architects, Inc. 
Westminster Presbyterian Church Addition and Renovation, James Dayton Design Ltd.


View the 2019 Minneapolis Merit Awards press release.

2018 Minneapolis Merit Award Recipients

The Shed at Crown Center, RoehrSchmitt Architecture, LLC
Columbia Heights Public Library, HGA Architects & Engineers
Ohm Sweet Ohm, SALA Architects
The Simons Livery Stable, U+B Architecture and Design
The Science Mill, Alliiance


View the 2018 Minneapolis Merit Awards press release.

2017 Minneapolis Merit Award Recipients

Be the Match, Perkins+Will
DC Group Office Headquarters, UrbanWorks Architecture, LLC
Fireman’s Park & Chaska Curling and Event Center, 292 Design Group
Sandcastle, LOCUS Architecture
South Minneapolis Office, LOCUS Architecture
Twin Cities Academy, Kodet Architectural Group, Ltd.


View the 2017 Minneapolis Merit Awards press release.

2016 Minneapolis Merit Award Recipients

BKV Group’s A-Mill Artist Lofts 
Cuningham Group Architecture, Inc.’s Twin Cities PBS (TPT) 
Perkins+Will’s St. Louis County Government Services Center Renovation 
U+B Architecture & Design’s Kiran Stordalen and Horst Rechelbacher Pediatric Pain, Palliative and Integrative Medicine 


View the 2016 Minneapolis Merit Awards press release.

2015 Minneapolis Merit Award Recipients

Locus Architects and Isenberg Associates’ East Side Enterprise Center
BKV Group’s Schmidt Artist Lofts
CITYDESKSTUDIO, Inc.’s Peppers & Fries
Alliiance’s Xcel Energy Hiawatha West Substation Enclosure
Shelter Architecture’s Dwan Maintenance Building


Download the 2015 Minneapolis Merit Awards press release.

2014 Minneapolis Merit Award Recipients

Perkins+Will’s Wadena Deer-Creek Middle School + High School
Kodet Architectural Group, Ltd.’s MnDOT Maple Grove Vehicle Maintenance Facility
Miller Dunwiddie Architecture, Inc.’s Unity Church – Unitarian
Kodet Architectural Group, Ltd.’s Hmong College Prep Academy