Pictured: Carl Gauley, AIA, 2024 Residential Emerging Architect Award recipient, and Grayspace Architecture’s Ski Hill Cabins. Portrait by Jennifer Simonson. Ski Hill Cabins photo by Spacecrafting.

2024 Residential Emerging Architect Award

AIA Minnesota is pleased to announce that Carl Gauley, AIA, of Grayspace Architecture, is the recipient of the 2024 award. Gauley will be recognized at an AIA Minnesota Awards Celebration event at Crown Roller Mill in Minneapolis in August. Read more »

Submission Information

This award has been revised and updated in January 2024. Please review the new criteria and submission requirements. 

The Residential Emerging Architect Award (previously the biannual Residential Emerging Talent Award and annual Emerging Talent of the Year Award) is given every two years to an emerging residential architect, licensed 10 or fewer years, who demonstrates the emergence of a strong architectural voice through thoughtful attention to design, craft, and materials, or who has made early contributions to the advancement of residential design. This award will next open in 2025.

Eligibility

AIA Minnesota members who are in good standing and have been licensed to practice architecture for 10 or fewer years by the submission deadline are eligible.

All AIA Minnesota award programs now require a declaration that candidates for awards comply with the AIA Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. Nominators will need to certify that candidates comply to the best of their knowledge. This measure is part of our commitment to ensuring that recipients of AIA Minnesota awards comport to the highest standards of character and professionalism, and it complies with requirements for AIA National awards.

Submission Criteria

Submissions should demonstrate the emergence of a strong architectural voice in one or both of the following categories:

— Development of design excellence demonstrated through the creation of residential buildings and environments that enhance our built communities.
— Development of practice excellence demonstrated through leadership, management, project delivery, and/or technical expertise.

The jury may also consider these optional supporting criteria:

— Commitment to sustainability demonstrated through projects that are resource-efficient and resilient and contribute to a healthy environment. Project examples should highlight areas of alignment with the 10 measures of the Framework for Design Excellence.
— Service to the client demonstrated by a commitment to the well-being of each client.
— Service to the community demonstrated through involvement in AIA, historic preservation boards, or similar community organizations.
— Advocacy for the value of, and broader access to, residential architecture through public speaking, written publications, or the shaping of public policy.
— Mentorship of the next generation of residential architects in the form of academic teaching or professional guidance.

Submission Requirements

Materials must be submitted using AIA Minnesota’s online awards platform. A candidate may self-submit, or any current AIA member may nominate another eligible individual.

Each submission must include the following materials:
— Description of the candidate’s design philosophy and approach to architecture (up to 250 words).
— A list of the candidate’s professional and/or personal achievements (up to 500 words).
— Visual examples of three built single-family residential projects that illustrate the candidate’s design philosophy, for which the candidate provided a leading or critical supporting role. At least one of the submitted projects must have been completed within the last five years (as of January 1, 2024). (Up to 10 images per project are allowed, including floor plans; file size limit is 5 MB per image. “Before” images are encouraged when the project is a remodel or addition.)
— Project descriptions (up to 200 words per description). Please include how each project addresses a measure or measures of the AIA Framework for Design Excellence. Design excellence requires a holistic approach addressing the interdependence among people, buildings, infrastructure, and the environment. The Framework for Design Excellence provides the elements that support this vision during project evaluation.
— Two to three letters of recommendation from a client, employer, colleague, collaborator, or contractor. If the candidate is nominated by another AIA member, one of these letters must be from the nominator.
— Optional: Additional documentation that demonstrates the candidate’s qualifications to receive the award, such as unbuilt designs or published articles, lectures, or any other form of public advocacy of the value of residential architecture.

All submissions must remain anonymous; no mention of the architect’s name or firm may appear in images, descriptions, or supporting documents. The candidate’s name and personal information will not be visible to jurors during the review process. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in disqualification.

Past Award Recipients

2022  Jessica Harner, AIA
2019  Bob Le Moine, AIA
2018  Jackie Millea, AIA
2017  Jody McGuire, AIA
2016  Bob Ganser, AIA
2015   Michael Roehr, AIA
2014   Christopher Strom, AIA
2013   Ben Awes, AIA
2012   Bryan Anderson, AIA
2011   Meghan Kell Cornell, AIA
2010   Christian Dean, AIA
2009   Kerrik Wessel, AIA
2008   Todd Hansen, AIA
2007   Geoffrey Warner, AIA
2006   Jean Rehkamp Larson, AIA
2005   Christine Albertsson, AIA
2004   Wynne Yelland, AIA