MINNEAPOLIS, July 14, 2026 — AIA Minnesota has named six recipients of its 2026 Young Architect Award, recognizing architects in the first 10 years of licensure who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the profession and their communities.

The 2026 recipients are:

Molly Dalsin, AIA, founder of Mesh Architecture, is a lecturer in architecture at the University of Minnesota, and interim co-director of the school’s Master of Science in Applied Research in Practice (MS-ARP) program. Through collaborative design, applied research, and civic engagement, she creates spaces and frameworks for connection. Dalsin centers human complexity as an asset, designs at the scale of everyday experience, and challenges systems to expand access and opportunity. Affordable and innovative multifamily housing has been a focus of her early career, both as a project architect and as co-chair of the AIA Minnesota Housing Advocacy Committee.

Michael Hara, AIA, a senior designer with HGA, is an architect with the soul of a maker, creating thoughtful buildings, objects, and environments. His work bridges history, memory, craft, and design to create enduring architecture that serves people and communities. Hara led the design of the AIA Minnesota Honor Award–winning Water Works Park Pavilion transformation in Minneapolis and the forthcoming renovation and expansion of the Grand Teton Music Festival’s Walk Festival Hall in Teton Village, Wyoming. He also served as project designer for projects that received seven additional AIA Minnesota Honor Awards and an AIA National Architecture Award. In 2019, he received the Ralph Rapson Traveling Study Award.

Nicholas M. Reiter, AIA, NOMA, a senior associate with Snow Kreilich Architects, advances architecture’s impact through environmentally responsible, human-centered design that promotes holistic well-being. His work is inventive, resilient, and responsive, emphasizing the tactile and sensory qualities of place through rigorous material inquiry. As project architect for Esox House, a large multifamily riverfront development with an industrial past, Reiter viewed the site’s layered history as the project’s richest raw material. “Nick’s instinct to preserve and reimagine gave the project a rootedness and authenticity,” says Buhl Investors CEO Peter Deanovic. “He is an exceptional architect and remarkably thoughtful collaborator.”

Kaitlin Schalow, AIA, is a project manager, senior associate, and national co-director of Community Action at HGA. She advances architecture as civic action through community-centered design, equity advocacy, and practice leadership that embeds social impact, sustainability, and civic responsibility into the profession. Her work spans civic, healthcare, cultural, educational, and research projects, demonstrating how authentic community engagement and systems-level leadership can transform architectural practice. Beyond project work, she fosters equity and leadership development at AIA Minnesota, conducts research on women in senior design leadership, and expands mentorship pathways for the next generation of architects.

Christina Stark, AIA, a senior associate at Snow Kreilich Architects, approaches architecture as an ongoing dialogue between people, place, and the built environment. Her work is rooted in close attention to site, program, materiality, and light, creating buildings that are deeply considered and enduring. Over the past decade, Stark has contributed to multiple award-winning projects ranging from the AIA Minnesota Honor Award–winning Wayzata Residence to the nationally recognized Energizer Park District in St. Louis and the Steinberg Rink and Pavilions revitalization in Forest Park, Missouri. She also contributes to a studio culture of mentorship aimed at supporting and elevating the next generation of architects.

Nick Wallin, AIA, is a design architect at Leo A Daly with experience spanning a wide range of project types. His professional background includes roles at Leo A Daly, Snow Kreilich Architects, MSR Design, and KPF. He draws inspiration from existing infrastructures and social and cultural contexts to uncover new possibilities for resilient and sustainable design. Wallin has also taught and mentored at the University of Minnesota and Dunwoody College of Technology, mentored high school students through the ACE Mentor Program, and served as a chapter director of AIA Minneapolis. He continues to mentor emerging professionals and former students and leads discussions on design, sustainability, and equity.

The 2026 AIA Minnesota Young Architect Award jury included AIA Minnesota volunteer leaders Eric Amel, FAIA; Chayna Claeys, AIA; Dagmara Cygler, AIA; Wale Falade, AIA, NOMA; and Edward Kodet, FAIA.

Recipients of the AIA Minnesota Young Architect Award are encouraged to apply for the AIA National Young Architect Award. To date, 31 AIA Minnesota architects have received the national honor, including Vicki L. Hooper, AIA, and Joan Soranno, FAIA, in 1993; William Blanski, FAIA, 1995; Michael Fischer, AIA, and Robert Rothman, AIA, 1996; Jeffrey Kagermeier, AIA, 2001; Mohammed Lawal, FAIA, 2002; Paul Neuhaus, AIA, 2003; James Dayton, AIA, 2005; Philip Koski, AIA, 2007; Michael Meehan, AIA, 2008; Matthew Kreilich, FAIA, and Michael Schellin, AIA, 2009; Steven Dwyer, FAIA, 2011; Timothy Bicknell, AIA, 2012; John Dwyer, AIA, and Alissa D. Luepke Pier, AIA, 2013; Bob Ganser, AIA, Amy Kalar, AIA, and Karen Lu, FAIA, 2016; Angela Wolf Scott, FAIA, and Malini Srivastava, AIA, 2018; James Garrett Jr., FAIA, NOMA, 2019; Meredith Hayes Gordon, AIA, Damaris Melo, AIA, NOMA, Amber Sausen, AIA, and Jesse Turck, AIA, 2020; Dagmara Larsen, AIA, and Daniel Yudchitz, AIA, 2021; and Simona Fischer, AIA, and David Wilson, AIA, 2023.

Dalsin, Hara, Reiter, Schalow, Stark, and Wallin will be recognized at an AIA Minnesota Awards Celebration on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at the Room & Board showroom in Edina. Learn more about the AIA Minnesota Young Architect Award.

Founded in 1892, the American Institute of Architects Minnesota is dedicated to strengthening communities, improving the built environment, and advancing design excellence. To learn more about the organization and Minnesota architectural firms, visit the AIA Minnesota website and subscribe to ENTER, the organization’s monthly digital newsletter exploring the people and ideas shaping a better built environment for Minnesota.