By Stephanie Rieke-Miller

The University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) has been recognized as one of ten projects worldwide with the 2011 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Honor Award for Architecture, the profession’s highest recognition of works that exemplify excellence. The recipients will be honored at the AIA 2011 national convention in New Orleans in May.

“We are thrilled to have been recognized with this prestigious award by the AIA,” said UMMA Director Joe Rosa. “It is a wonderful affirmation of what UMMA has become for this University and the region and a testament to the incredible dedication of our family of supporters and the UM administration.”

Designed by Allied Works Architecture, the Museum’s expansion and renovation project included a new 53,000-square-feet addition, the Maxine and Stuart Frankel and the Frankel Family Wing named after the lead benefactors, and the complete restoration of the Museum’s original 1910 Beaux-Arts building. The $41.9 million transformation more than doubled the space available for collections display, temporary exhibitions, public programs, and educational exploration. Integrated Design Solutions was the associate architect.

The jury for the 2011 Institute Honor Awards for Architecture included: David Miller, FAIA, (chair) The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP; Ashley Clark, Assoc. AIA, LandDesign Inc; Curtis Fentress, FAIA, Fentress Architects; T. Gunny Harboe, FAIA, Harboe Architect, PC; David Neuman, FAIA, University of Virginia; Louis Pounders, FAIA, ANF Architects; Sarah Snodgrass, AIAS Representative, University of Nevada-Las Vegas; Allison Williams, FAIA, Perkins & Will and Jennifer Yoos, AIA, VJAA.

A leader in its commitment to world-class architecture, the University of Michigan previously received the AIA Honor Award for Architecture in 2005 for the renovation of Hill Auditorium, the University’s renowned historic concert hall, and in 2007 for the new Biomedical Science Research Building (BSRB).

For over 150 years, members of the American Institute of Architects have worked with each other and their communities to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings and cityscapes. Members adhere to a code of ethics and professional conduct to ensure the highest standards in professional practice. Embracing their responsibility to serve society, AIA members engage civic and government leaders and the public in helping find needed solutions to pressing issues facing our communities, institutions, nation and world.

The University of Michigan Museum of Art is a lively meeting place for the arts, bridging campus and community. In addition to the Museum’s ambitious schedule of special exhibitions and the rotation of its near-universal collections galleries, UMMA presents a wide range of public programming, including events featuring the visual, performing, film, and literary arts.

For more information about AIA: www.aia.org.

For more information about UMMA: www.umma.umich.edu

Stephanie Rieke-Miller is external communications writer/manager for the University of Michigan Museum of Art.