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Minnesota State Capitol Restoration Wins AIA Honor Award

Restoration praised for returning “The People’s House” to its original architectural stature while updating 21st-century functions.

Minnesota State Capital, Campus Renovation

HGA has won a national 2020 AIA Honor Award for Architecture for the historic restoration and renovation of the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul.

Originally designed by famed architect Cass Gilbert 1905, the Minnesota State Capitol faced deteriorating stone conditions and long-delayed preservation efforts over the decades before HGA completed a comprehensive, multidisciplinary renovation in 2018. The five-year project touched every aspect of the Capitol—from inside to outside, from the dome to the basement.

Highlights included restoration of interior common spaces; refurbished Senate, House, and Court chambers; updated mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and life-safety systems; new architecturally compatible lighting; restored dome and roof systems; and historic restoration of exterior stonework.

“A masterful preservation project following all the textbook preservation design steps—historical research, programming, design, systems integration, and highest levels of workmanship,” noted the AIA jurors. “This project transformed the 1905 Minnesota State Capitol, an architectural masterpiece designed by Cass Gilbert, back to ‘The People’s House’ that it was originally designed to be. Integrating architecture, art, community, government, and technology, the project may be appreciated on many levels.”

About the Award

The 2020 AIA Honor Awards for Architecture celebrate the best contemporary architecture by members of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

A panel of renowned architects evaluated the award submissions.

This is the sixth national AIA Honor Award for Architecture HGA has won, including Bigelow Chapel at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities and Lakewood Cemetery Garden Mausoleum.

For more information, visit the 2020 AIA Honor Awards.