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HGA Wins Two AIA Minnesota Honor Awards

The Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center Theater and Dance Building expansion at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Derby Line I-91 Land Port of Entry in Derby Line, Vermont, won 2019 AIA Minnesota Honor Awards for architectural excellence.

Designed by HGA, the two projects were acknowledged for their design invention, attention to detail, and advancement of sustainability.

Macalester College

Macalester College, Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center interior black box theater play

The Theater and Dance Building is the final phase of a three-phase renovation and expansion of the renowned Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, which included earlier renovations of the Music and Arts Building and Studio Arts Building.

The project involved demolition of the existing Theater and Dance wing and construction of an expanded building. Two key spaces—a flexible Black Box Theater and the Fox Dance Studio—are strategically located adjacent to the existing Arts Commons to foster interdisciplinary activity between the Theater and Dance departments and other arts disciplines. The project also includes a scene shop, costume shop, design studio, classrooms, and rehearsal studios.

“The scale and composition of the building are compelling,” noted the awards jurors. “The building is distinct and different but cohesive with phases I and II. The Black Box (above) is rendered poetically both inside and out.”

Derby Line

The Derby Line I-91 Land Port of Entry replaced an outdated port with an expanded facility to support modernized entrance and inspection procedures. The one-story, 30,000 square-foot building is located on a 4.2-acre site that is bounded by north and southbound I-91 and federally designated wetland.

Improvements include a new Main Port Building, a larger Commercial Inspections Building, and open Primary and Secondary Inspection Canopies.

Inspired by Vermont’s natural resources and vernacular architecture, the sustainable building integrates natural wood and stone materials and locally commissioned artwork, as part of the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Art in Architecture program.

About the Awards

The 2019 AIA Minnesota Honor Awards program recognizes outstanding architecture and urban design by AIA Minnesota members and Minnesota member firms.

The jurors included Noah Biklen, AIA, Partner, Deborah Berke Partners, New York; Steve Dumez, FAIA, Principal and Director of Design, EskewDumezRipple, New Orleans; and Anne Schopf, FAIA, Partner, Mahlum, Seattle.

For more information, visit AIA Minnesota.