the jury
The Design Awards Committee is pleased to announce the selection of an exceptional jury from the Minneapolis area for our 2014 Design Awards. This jury consists of design professionals representing a wide range of experience within the practice of architecture and due to the success from last year’s winners we again have two distinct juries. New this year to both juries is the introduction of an intern to broaden our approach and vision of the winning entries. Best of luck to everyone!
Jury I – Commercial, Institutional, Commercial Interiors, Historic, Conceptual/Unbuilt, Detail and the Herlong Award
Christopher D. Brenny, Associate AIA
Intern - NewStudio Architecture
Chris is a 2013 Master of Architecture graduate from the University of Minnesota, College of Design. His time there included research on 3M's Sunlight Delivery System, and his design studies in biomimetics were included in the Weisman Art Museum exhibit, Contextual Flux. He was a recipient of the May Ohrbeck Painter Graduate Fellowship and a Thomas F. Ellerbe Scholarship 2013 finalist. A Bachelor of Arts in Biology graduate of Saint John's University and former research scientist with the University of Minnesota Medical School, Chris enjoys work that pursues the intersections between design, the natural sciences and education. Chris is currently a designer at NewStudio Architecture, located in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. His time there thus far has included educational, commercial, retail and residential projects.
Matthew J. Kreilich, AIA, LEED® AP
Principal - SnowKreilich Architects
Matthew Kreilich provides his design insight into all of the firm's project designs, as well as acting as the project designer on the studios' most significant recent projects, including the Land Ports of Entry in Warroad Minnesota and Van Buren Maine, creative offices for KNOCK, the award winning Target Plaza Commons and Brunsfield North Loop Apartments. Matthew was honored with the 2009 AIA National Young Architect Award for outstanding design leadership. He has lead studios at the University of Minnesota and participated in reviews at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design and at Washington University St Louis. Matthew has participated on a number of professional juries including AIA Philadelphia, AIA Colorado and AIA Kansas. He has presented the studio's work at 2009 and 2010 AIA National conference as well at the AIA American Academy of Justice 2010 conference.
Robert C. Mack, FAIA
Principal - MacDonald & Mack Architects, Ltd.
Mr. Mack's firm specializes in historic preservation, with projects including more than 500 properties on the National Register of Historic Places and over a dozen National Historic Landmarks across the United States. Bob began his career for the National Park Service in Washington, DC, where he was the author of Preservation Briefs #1 and #2; he was also influential in the writing of the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. In 2011, MacDonald & Mack was named the AIA Minnesota Firm of the Year. Bob is also an Adjunct Professor in the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of Minnesota. He holds two architecture degrees from the University of Minnesota and an MS in Building Conservation from Herriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Thomas A. Meyer, FAIA
Principal - MSR
Mr. Meyer is well-known regionally and nationally for his work with historic preservation. His career is threaded with a strong interest in the correlation between old and new that has resulted in work with historic district planning, building rehabilitation and restoration, adaptive reuse projects, new construction in historic districts and museum and interpretive center design. Tom taught design at the University of Minnesota's School of Architecture for 25 years and was the first recipient of the Ralph Rapson Award for Distinguished Teaching. He is a member of the University of Minnesota’s College of Design Advisory Board, co-chair of the University's School of Architecture 2013 Centennial Committee, a trustee of the Mississippi River Fund, a member of the Minneapolis Riverfront Partnership and a member of the Viking Stadium Implementation Committee. Tom was elected into the AIA College of Fellows in 2006 and is past president of AIA Minnesota. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Minnesota.
Joan M. Soranno, FAIA
Design Principal - HGA Architects and Engineers
Joan M. Soranno is an award-winning architect specializing in cultural and religious architecture with HGA in Minneapolis. Among her highly regarded work is Lakewood Cemetery Garden Mausoleum in Minneapolis, which won the 2014 AIA Honor Award for Architecture, and Bigelow Chapel for the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in New Brighton, Minnesota, which won the 2006 AIA Honor Award for Architecture. She has presented at national design symposiums, including most recently "Museum and Architecture: Issues for the 21st Century" at the Getty Center, and has served as a juror for national awards programs, including the 2013 Progressive Architecture (PA) Awards. She has been published in The New York Times, Architectural Record, AIArchitect, and ARCHITECT magazine, which featured Lakewood on the October 2012 cover. Soranno has a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Notre Dame, and is a member of the GSA Design Excellence Program-National Peer.
Jury II – Single Family Residential
Mark Larson, AIA
Principal - Rehkamp Larson Architects, Inc.
Mark Larson is a principal and co-founder of Rehkamp Larson Architects, a twelve person residential design firm in Minneapolis specializing in new houses, renovations and cabins throughout the region. After receiving a B.A. from St. Olaf College, Mark earned his Master of Architecture degree from the University of Minnesota in 1992. Prior to founding the office in 2000, he worked in the offices of The Leonard Parker Associates, Vincent James, Julie Snow Architects and HGA. The work of Rehkamp Larson Architects has been widely published and is focused on creating beautiful functional houses through a highly collaborative design process.
Rosemary McMonigal, AIA, LEED AP, CID
Principal - McMonigal Architects, LLC
Rosemary formed McMonigal Architects in 1984. While her practice has included a number of institutional and educational projects, Rosemary's major contributions have been in the areas of housing. She is actively engaged in research projects and exploring new techniques for healthy living and energy efficient construction. She has lectured nationally for the American Institute of Architects, Ontario Architects Association and the Energy Efficient Building Association, and taught for five years in the Design and Housing Department at the University of Minnesota. Rosemary is an architectural advisor for the Capitol area in St. Paul and was awarded the Minnesota Distinguished Architect Award in 2013. Rosemary received a Bachelor of Architecture and a Bachelor of Environmental Design from the University of Minnesota, Institute of Technology. She was awarded a scholarship to study at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland (1976) and a fellowship to work with Arkkitehtitoimisto Annikki Nurminen, an architecture firm in Finland (1981).
Abigail Merlis, Associate AIA
Intern - VJAA
A recent graduate of the University of Minnesota's MArch program, Abigail comes from a diverse educational background. She completed her BA in Geology from Macalester College and her MEd in Art Education from the University of Minnesota before returning for her MArch. While completing her most recent degree she was the Editor-in-Chief of the College of Design's student journal, THERE, and co-developed a collaborative design lab with Professor Marc Swackhamer that will soon open in Northrup Hall at the University of Minnesota. She draws on her broad educational and professional experiences daily in her position as Intern at VJAA in Minneapolis.
Daniel Nepp, AIA, CID
Principal - TEA2 Architects, Inc.
Mr. Nepp graduated in 1986 from the University of Minnesota, School of Architecture and joined TEA Architects immediately following graduation. Dan became a licensed Architect in 1990. He then became a partner in 1996 and the firm changed its name to TEA2 Architects. In 2000, he won the Ralph Rapson Traveling Fellowship from the Minnesota Architectural Foundation. Dan has designed several different projects for PBS's Hometime including a thirteen-part series called House with Character. His work as a designer or as a principal has been published in over 70 publications and he has won several AIA Minnesota/Star Tribune "Home of the Month" awards and AIA Minnesota/Mpls.St.Paul Magazine RAVE awards. In 2008, Dan was awarded the honor of Architect of Distinction in a joint jury process by AIA Minnesota and Midwest Home Magazine.
Sarah Nettleton, AIA, LEED AP
Principal - Sarah Nettleton Architects
Sarah Nettleton is founder and principal of the firm Sarah Nettleton Architects an award-winning firm located in Minneapolis. In addition to her professional practice, Sarah has taught at the University of Minnesota, College of Design and is a past chair of the Minnesota Chapter of the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment. Her design experience includes a broad range of institutional, commercial and residential projects, integrating architectural and landscape design where sustainable is more than a concept, it is a measurable outcome. She won a 2002 AIA National Top Ten COTE award for a Zero Net Energy home in Tofte, monitored as meeting 97% of that goal. The recipient of nine local and national Honor Awards for her work in both landscape and architecture, Sarah is the author of the book The Simple Home The Luxury of Enough. Sarah holds a Bachelors and a Masters in Architecture from Tulane University.
The composition of the jury is at the Committee's discretion and is not subject to review. The jury shall have the sole authority to determine whether and how many awards are justified in each category. No minimum or maximum number of awards has been established. Projects shall be considered on their own merits regardless of size, scope, or cost. The jury's decisions are final and not subject to review.
Jury I – Commercial, Institutional, Commercial Interiors, Historic, Conceptual/Unbuilt, Detail and the Herlong Award
Christopher D. Brenny, Associate AIA
Intern - NewStudio Architecture
Chris is a 2013 Master of Architecture graduate from the University of Minnesota, College of Design. His time there included research on 3M's Sunlight Delivery System, and his design studies in biomimetics were included in the Weisman Art Museum exhibit, Contextual Flux. He was a recipient of the May Ohrbeck Painter Graduate Fellowship and a Thomas F. Ellerbe Scholarship 2013 finalist. A Bachelor of Arts in Biology graduate of Saint John's University and former research scientist with the University of Minnesota Medical School, Chris enjoys work that pursues the intersections between design, the natural sciences and education. Chris is currently a designer at NewStudio Architecture, located in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. His time there thus far has included educational, commercial, retail and residential projects.
Matthew J. Kreilich, AIA, LEED® AP
Principal - SnowKreilich Architects
Matthew Kreilich provides his design insight into all of the firm's project designs, as well as acting as the project designer on the studios' most significant recent projects, including the Land Ports of Entry in Warroad Minnesota and Van Buren Maine, creative offices for KNOCK, the award winning Target Plaza Commons and Brunsfield North Loop Apartments. Matthew was honored with the 2009 AIA National Young Architect Award for outstanding design leadership. He has lead studios at the University of Minnesota and participated in reviews at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design and at Washington University St Louis. Matthew has participated on a number of professional juries including AIA Philadelphia, AIA Colorado and AIA Kansas. He has presented the studio's work at 2009 and 2010 AIA National conference as well at the AIA American Academy of Justice 2010 conference.
Robert C. Mack, FAIA
Principal - MacDonald & Mack Architects, Ltd.
Mr. Mack's firm specializes in historic preservation, with projects including more than 500 properties on the National Register of Historic Places and over a dozen National Historic Landmarks across the United States. Bob began his career for the National Park Service in Washington, DC, where he was the author of Preservation Briefs #1 and #2; he was also influential in the writing of the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. In 2011, MacDonald & Mack was named the AIA Minnesota Firm of the Year. Bob is also an Adjunct Professor in the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of Minnesota. He holds two architecture degrees from the University of Minnesota and an MS in Building Conservation from Herriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Thomas A. Meyer, FAIA
Principal - MSR
Mr. Meyer is well-known regionally and nationally for his work with historic preservation. His career is threaded with a strong interest in the correlation between old and new that has resulted in work with historic district planning, building rehabilitation and restoration, adaptive reuse projects, new construction in historic districts and museum and interpretive center design. Tom taught design at the University of Minnesota's School of Architecture for 25 years and was the first recipient of the Ralph Rapson Award for Distinguished Teaching. He is a member of the University of Minnesota’s College of Design Advisory Board, co-chair of the University's School of Architecture 2013 Centennial Committee, a trustee of the Mississippi River Fund, a member of the Minneapolis Riverfront Partnership and a member of the Viking Stadium Implementation Committee. Tom was elected into the AIA College of Fellows in 2006 and is past president of AIA Minnesota. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Minnesota.
Joan M. Soranno, FAIA
Design Principal - HGA Architects and Engineers
Joan M. Soranno is an award-winning architect specializing in cultural and religious architecture with HGA in Minneapolis. Among her highly regarded work is Lakewood Cemetery Garden Mausoleum in Minneapolis, which won the 2014 AIA Honor Award for Architecture, and Bigelow Chapel for the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in New Brighton, Minnesota, which won the 2006 AIA Honor Award for Architecture. She has presented at national design symposiums, including most recently "Museum and Architecture: Issues for the 21st Century" at the Getty Center, and has served as a juror for national awards programs, including the 2013 Progressive Architecture (PA) Awards. She has been published in The New York Times, Architectural Record, AIArchitect, and ARCHITECT magazine, which featured Lakewood on the October 2012 cover. Soranno has a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Notre Dame, and is a member of the GSA Design Excellence Program-National Peer.
Jury II – Single Family Residential
Mark Larson, AIA
Principal - Rehkamp Larson Architects, Inc.
Mark Larson is a principal and co-founder of Rehkamp Larson Architects, a twelve person residential design firm in Minneapolis specializing in new houses, renovations and cabins throughout the region. After receiving a B.A. from St. Olaf College, Mark earned his Master of Architecture degree from the University of Minnesota in 1992. Prior to founding the office in 2000, he worked in the offices of The Leonard Parker Associates, Vincent James, Julie Snow Architects and HGA. The work of Rehkamp Larson Architects has been widely published and is focused on creating beautiful functional houses through a highly collaborative design process.
Rosemary McMonigal, AIA, LEED AP, CID
Principal - McMonigal Architects, LLC
Rosemary formed McMonigal Architects in 1984. While her practice has included a number of institutional and educational projects, Rosemary's major contributions have been in the areas of housing. She is actively engaged in research projects and exploring new techniques for healthy living and energy efficient construction. She has lectured nationally for the American Institute of Architects, Ontario Architects Association and the Energy Efficient Building Association, and taught for five years in the Design and Housing Department at the University of Minnesota. Rosemary is an architectural advisor for the Capitol area in St. Paul and was awarded the Minnesota Distinguished Architect Award in 2013. Rosemary received a Bachelor of Architecture and a Bachelor of Environmental Design from the University of Minnesota, Institute of Technology. She was awarded a scholarship to study at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland (1976) and a fellowship to work with Arkkitehtitoimisto Annikki Nurminen, an architecture firm in Finland (1981).
Abigail Merlis, Associate AIA
Intern - VJAA
A recent graduate of the University of Minnesota's MArch program, Abigail comes from a diverse educational background. She completed her BA in Geology from Macalester College and her MEd in Art Education from the University of Minnesota before returning for her MArch. While completing her most recent degree she was the Editor-in-Chief of the College of Design's student journal, THERE, and co-developed a collaborative design lab with Professor Marc Swackhamer that will soon open in Northrup Hall at the University of Minnesota. She draws on her broad educational and professional experiences daily in her position as Intern at VJAA in Minneapolis.
Daniel Nepp, AIA, CID
Principal - TEA2 Architects, Inc.
Mr. Nepp graduated in 1986 from the University of Minnesota, School of Architecture and joined TEA Architects immediately following graduation. Dan became a licensed Architect in 1990. He then became a partner in 1996 and the firm changed its name to TEA2 Architects. In 2000, he won the Ralph Rapson Traveling Fellowship from the Minnesota Architectural Foundation. Dan has designed several different projects for PBS's Hometime including a thirteen-part series called House with Character. His work as a designer or as a principal has been published in over 70 publications and he has won several AIA Minnesota/Star Tribune "Home of the Month" awards and AIA Minnesota/Mpls.St.Paul Magazine RAVE awards. In 2008, Dan was awarded the honor of Architect of Distinction in a joint jury process by AIA Minnesota and Midwest Home Magazine.
Sarah Nettleton, AIA, LEED AP
Principal - Sarah Nettleton Architects
Sarah Nettleton is founder and principal of the firm Sarah Nettleton Architects an award-winning firm located in Minneapolis. In addition to her professional practice, Sarah has taught at the University of Minnesota, College of Design and is a past chair of the Minnesota Chapter of the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment. Her design experience includes a broad range of institutional, commercial and residential projects, integrating architectural and landscape design where sustainable is more than a concept, it is a measurable outcome. She won a 2002 AIA National Top Ten COTE award for a Zero Net Energy home in Tofte, monitored as meeting 97% of that goal. The recipient of nine local and national Honor Awards for her work in both landscape and architecture, Sarah is the author of the book The Simple Home The Luxury of Enough. Sarah holds a Bachelors and a Masters in Architecture from Tulane University.
The composition of the jury is at the Committee's discretion and is not subject to review. The jury shall have the sole authority to determine whether and how many awards are justified in each category. No minimum or maximum number of awards has been established. Projects shall be considered on their own merits regardless of size, scope, or cost. The jury's decisions are final and not subject to review.