AIA Minneapolis

07/22/2026

Tomorrow, Thursday, July 23! 🎉 Join AIA Minneapolis members, board leaders, and colleagues at Luminary Arts Center for an evening of socializing and awards recognition. The event will include a social hour followed by a presentation of the 2026 AIA Minneapolis Merit Awards. Light appetizers and alcoholic and NA drinks will be served. RSVP: https://www.aia-mn.org/event/mpls_social/

07/21/2026

Congratulations to the winners of the 2026 AIA Minneapolis Merit Awards! Read more about each project: https://www.aia-mn.org/mpls-merit-2026/

The AIA Minneapolis Merit Awards is an honor bestowed on 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.

The Merit Awards are distinguished by their unique jury composition. In addition to an architect, the jury includes a business professional, real estate developer, community advocate, and academic leader. This broad perspective ensures projects are evaluated through multiple lenses.

• Cankdeska Cikana Community College Cultural Heritage Center | JLG Architects
• Great River Children’s Museum | GLTArchitects
• The McKnight Foundation | Studio BV
• Mississippi Gateway Regional Park | Alliiance
• NEON Collective Kitchens | LSE Architects, Inc.
• The Valiance | UrbanWorks Architecture LLC | Michael L. Schrock Merit Award winner

AIA Minneapolis announces six recipients of 2026 Merit Awards.

06/02/2026

The Architects Licensing Advisory Committee invites you to the second of their core competency sessions covering topics selected to better prepare you for practicing architecture and to give you knowledge to be better prepared for your next Architectural Registration Exam. Plan to attend the next one covering Building Envelope Basics on June 18th!

Who should attend? Students and ARE Testing Candidates

Presented by Rachael Spires, AIA, Associate Principal, Performance Design & Quality Manager, BWBR. This session will include a presentation led by Rachael followed by discussions of potential test prep problems and Q&A.

You can attend in person at BWBR in St. Paul or virtually. Learn more and register to attend: https://www.aia-mn.org/event/building-envelope-basics/

05/28/2026

Recipient of a 2026 Minneapolis Preservation Award, Bimosedaa—the Ojibwe word for “let’s walk together”—is a historic warehouse renovation that created 48 studio apartments dedicated to permanent supportive housing, primarily for Indigenous individuals that have experienced homelessness.

This seven-story warehouse built in 1915 is a contributing building to the historic Minneapolis warehouse district. This edifice once housed motion picture film reels and furs through various periods of its history. The building had been sitting in a derelict state for many years prior to Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative’s commitment to breathe new life into it. The building boasts an impressive terra cotta façade on its 4th Street-facing elevation that wraps the corner, then transitions to facades laden with large industrial windows at the alley.

Due to the efforts of several dedicated organizations this district gem was able to be preserved and will be called home by many for years to come.

Project partners: Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative; LHB, Inc.; Mattson Macdonald Young; Steen Engineering; Watson-Forsberg; Landscape Research LLC

04/29/2026

Submit a project to the AIA Minneapolis Merit Awards! This award celebrates projects designed by AIA Minneapolis firms that tell a compelling story of excellence beyond design. 🗓️ Entries are due May 15 at 12:00 noon CST. Learn more and submit a project: https://www.aia-mn.org/resources/for-architects-designers/awards-programs/minneapolis-merit-awards/

The Merit Awards are distinguished by their unique jury composition. In addition to architects, the jury includes business professionals, real estate developers, community advocates, and academic leaders. This broad perspective ensures projects are evaluated through multiple lenses.

The Merit Awards recognize projects by AIA Minneapolis architects that:

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

04/29/2026

We’re proud to share that the Minneapolis African American Historic and Cultural Context study was awarded a 2026 Minneapolis Preservation Award from AIA Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission and Preserve Minneapolis.

The study focuses on African American heritage in Minneapolis from the early 1800s to the present day. It helps us understand what places reflect the history of African Americans. We will use this information to guide historic preservation planning in Minneapolis.

Community engagement has driven this study. Thank you to the many community members who shared stories about people, places and events in Minneapolis to help us document the history of African Americans in our city. We're also grateful to Judge LaJune Lange, Antonia Apolinario-Wilcoxon, the African American Heritage Work Group and 106 Group for their contributions to this effort.