AIA St. Paul is pleased to announce that the team of Adam Lapacz, Assoc. AIA and Chirag Khurana, both of Pope Architects, was awarded first place and a cash prize of $1,500 for the 2019 competition.

Honorable Mention was awarded to Zach Kern, Assoc. AIA. 

The first place team and honorable mention winner will have the opportunity to present their design proposals at a “Food for Thought” event in 2020, date and time TBD. They will also be formally recognized at the 2019 Licensure Luau hosted by the Emerging Professionals Committee. 

Click below to view all entries for the 2019 competition.

First Place

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First Place Adam Lapacz and Chriag Khurana

2019 Challenge

This year’s opportunity focused on Shephard Road and Davern Street at the south edge of the city of St. Paul. Formerly the U.S. Bank Building, it was demolished in 2013 and most of the site has remained vacant since.

The challenge was to create a market rate mixed-use development. The design proposed must have met the following criteria:

  • The housing portion of the building should contain a minimum of 55 apartment units.
  • Amenity spaces for the housing residents must be included.
  • Parking should be provided for the housing residents at an appropriate rate to the number of units.
  • Existing parking structure and airport surface parking it’s not required to remain.
  • Apartment unit plans do not need to be developed, but may be if important to the design concept.
  • An event space available for rent by the communities in the neighborhood should be incorporated into the site and design solution. This space or collection of spaces should accommodate the gathering of medium to large groups. The event space does not need to be attached to the mixed use building. It should be equipped to handle food service and cooking. Restrooms and parking should also be provided.
  • Event space should have access to open green areas on the site.
  • Retail spaces should be planned for at the ground level of the building. These spaces could be occupied by grocery stores, convenience stores, clothing stores, restaurants, etc.
  • Minimize excavation due to shallow depth to the bedrock.
  • MRCCA, Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area design standards must be met.
  • T3, traditional neighborhood district design standards must be met.
* Design solutions should take advantage of sustainable design opportunities. Other programming and features may be included as desired.