“We’re honored to be the first firm to receive the AIA Minnesota Firm Award twice,” says Mamie Harvey, president, Alliiance. “This recognition reflects our focus on what matters most: our clients, our staff, and our profession, as well as the balance of stability and renewal that propels us forward."

Over the past 55 years, Alliiance has received more than 250 design awards and has become an industry leader in aviation design and science and technology environments, among other areas of expertise. The firm’s collaborative approach can be seen in its decades-long partnerships with clients including the Metropolitan Airports Commission—the owner and operator of Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport—and the University of Minnesota.

“As a client of Alliiance, I’ve experienced firsthand the firm’s unwavering commitment to collaboration, design excellence, and meaningful relationships,” wrote Marc Partridge, AIA, University of Minnesota university architect emeritus, in a letter supporting the nomination. “Alliiance has been one of the university’s most successful design firms—with good reason(s). They are a supremely collaborative firm and consistently finds the design ‘sweet spot’—surprisingly creative solutions that fit our campus fabric, future-proof our programmatic needs, and are welcoming to our students and faculty.”

Alliiance’s University of Minnesota projects include the Cargill Building for Microbial and Plant Genomics, the Cancer and Cardiovascular Research Building, the Physics and Nanotechnology Building (with ZGF), Tate Hall School of Physics & Astronomy and Earth and Environmental Science, and the Bee and Pollinator Research Lab. 

Its nearly 50 years of work at Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport has ranged from the design of concourses A, B, C, and G to MSP’s award-winning next-generation restrooms—and earned Alliiance many other airport commissions around the world. The firm also has an extensive portfolio of workplace and civic design.

A signatory to the 2030 Challenge, Alliiance has had several of its projects achieve significant energy reductions and sustainability certifications. The firm’s Hennepin County Public Works Facility, completed in 1999, received the 2024 AIA Minnesota 25 Year Award for leading-edge building-performance measures that would help inform the State of Minnesota’s B3 Sustainable Building Guidelines, established in 2004.

The American Institute of Architects Minnesota, founded in 1892, is dedicated to advancing a vital profession, vibrant communities, and architecture that endures. For more information on the organization and Minnesota architectural firms, visit our website and subscribe to ENTER, the digital monthly newsletter that explores the people and ideas shaping a better built environment for Minnesota.

At Alliiance, our shared purpose is simple yet meaningful: uniting people and place through design that inspires, connects, and endures. We are committed to creating responsible, sustainable, and socially equitable spaces that positively impact the communities we serve. Our approach combines creativity, collaboration, and expertise to deliver designs that stand the test of time. For more, visit alliiance.com.