Firm of the Year to Snow Kreilich Architects

Julie Snow founded the practice in 1995 and was later joined by partner Matt Kreilich. Per the AIA's announcement, "Snow Kreilich’s practice benefits greatly from the diversity and background of its studio members. Eschewing the demographic norms of many firms, 50 percent of the staff consists of women and minorities, strengthening the culture through holistic collaboration."

World-Architects has featured a couple of their projects as Buildings of the Week, illustrative of the firm's range: the Warroad Land Port of Entry in Warroad, Minnesota, and the Brunsfield North Loop, an apartment building in Minneapolis. The firm has since completed a second port of entry along the Canadian border, leading the AIA to state: "Together, the forms of [these two] buildings — the first welcome to America for tens of thousands per year — are about border security as much as they are about a progressive vision for architecture. Their warm materials and glowing interiors project an embracing welcome to all and quietly, but confidently, state that this is a country of bold design solutions."

Snow Kreilich Architects will receive the 2018 AIA Architecture Firm Award at the 2018 AIA Conference on Architecture in New York City in June.