Top left to bottom right: Fergus Falls Public Library Addition and Remodel, Mini-Bimaadiziwin Apartments, White Bear Lake Sports Center Renovation, and Hennepin County Medical Examiner

For high-resolution images of individual projects, contact Sheri Hansen.

MINNEAPOLIS, June 9, 2022 — AIA Minneapolis announces four Merit Awards to projects designed by AIA Minneapolis architects that tell a story of excellence beyond design; emphasize public interest design; and embrace the varied forces that shape a building. Unique in its approach to assembling a jury, the AIA Minneapolis Merit Award encompasses the views of business professionals, real estate developers, community advocates, academic leaders, as well as architects.

2022 AIA Minneapolis Merit Award recipients:

Bentz Thompson Rietow’s Fergus Falls Public Library Addition and Remodel is the result of a multi-year community process that provides youth focused library amenities in a building that emphasizes the character of the local landscape and community while incorporating sustainable practices, adaptability, and efficient use of resources.

LEO A DALY’s Hennepin County Medical Examiner office and examination facility sets a new national precedent for buildings of this use through innovative design and emphasis on creating a work environment that focuses on occupant wellness with unprecedented access to natural light, the outdoors, and restorative spaces for those who conduct the technical and often traumatic work.

JLG Architects’ White Bear Lake Sports Center Renovation is a building that has navigated a 50 year-long journey including being relocated, reassembled, and repurposed into a Center primed for sustainable, economical, and environmentally responsible operations, that also reconnects the community and empowers its youth to lead healthy, active lives.

Cuningham and Full Circle Indigenous Planning’s Mino-Bimaadiziwin Apartments is a multifamily housing development that incorporates sustainable design principals, features indoor and outdoor common gathering spaces, incorporates a medicine garden, and playground space located in the heart of Minneapolis’ Native American Cultural Corridor and provides much-needed affordable housing units. The Mino-Bimaadiziwin Apartments received the additional honor of being selected for the 2022 Michael L. Schrock, AIA Merit Award (see description below).

The Michael L. Schrock, AIA, Merit Award was created to honor Mike Schrock, AIA, who tragically passed away in 2008. This is an additional honor awarded within the context and structure of the AIA Minneapolis Merit Awards to the winning project that most embodies Michael’s 7 Rules of Architecture:

  1. Know where you are from.
  2. Know who you are.
  3. Know why you are.
  4. Respect your benefactors.
  5. Honor the environment.
  6. Architecture must serve those who occupy it.
  7. There is beauty in functional, economical, safe, environmentally responsible, owner-driven architecture.

The Merit Award jury included: Trevor Bullen, AIA, Dunwoody College of Technology; Paul Bauknight, Minneapolis Parks Foundation; Corey Dykmann, Core Group; Heather Leide, AIA, MAC Airport Development; and Malini Srivastava, AIA, AIA Minneapolis President-elect, University of Minnesota, and dandelab. The jury reviewed how well the entries support the health and well-being of the client or user, address critical social, economic, and or environmental needs of the community, reduce burdens on the environment, address issues of economic development, and utilize innovation.

The Merit Awards virtual presentation to recipients will occur during the AIA Minneapolis Chapter Lunch Program on July 21, 2022. Learn more about the awards on the AIA Minneapolis website.

AIA Minneapolis is the largest chapter in Minnesota with more than 1,600 members. Centered in Minneapolis, the chapter territory includes the southwestern portion of the state. As a large chapter, AIA Minneapolis participates with other large AIA chapters nationwide to focus attention on significant issues facing AIA members. The chapter provides leadership, networking, and outreach opportunities for its members.