The jury has spoken. After reviewing nearly four dozen architect-designed homes, a panel chose the 12 winners of this year's Home of the Month award.
The winning homes, both new and remodeled, will be featured once a month in the Homes section, as part of a partnership between the Star Tribune and the Minnesota chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Here's a preview of the projects you'll be seeing the first Sunday of every month, starting in May, including interviews with the architects and homeowners, plus lots of photos:
Project: An Art Deco landmark on Cedar Lake is expanded to include a third-floor master suite while preserving its historically significant lakeside facade.
Design team: Lars Peterssen, Andrew Edwins and Gabriel Keller, Peterssen/Keller Architecture.
Project: Simplify and edit were the design principles of a new modern home with elevated views of Sweeney Lake, Wirth Park and the downtown Minneapolis skyline.
Design team: Ben Awes, Christian Dean and Bob Ganser, CityDeskStudio.
Project: A midcentury modern home, originally designed by University of Minnesota architecture professor Robert Bliss, was remodeled for 21st-century living, while respecting its existing aesthetic.
Design team: Thomas Meyer and Aaron Wittkamper, MS&R.
Project: After a tree crashed through the roof of their 1950s house in Golden Valley, the homeowners undertook an extensive renovation and a colorful style update.
Design team: Kerrik Wessel and Heather Sexton, Wessel Design.
Project: A couple with New England roots built a home in northern Minnesota that drew inspiration from rural Vermont's colonial houses, complete with a one-story link to a barn-like structure containing a garage, exercise room and guest suite.
Design team: Todd Hansen, Mark Tambornino and Ryan Fish, Albertsson Hansen Architecture.
Project: A farmhouse designed for seamless indoor/outdoor living includes a kitchen that can accommodate cooking, canning and baking, and a porch positioned as an extension of the dining area for flexible entertaining.
Design team: Mark Sloot, SALA Architects
Project: A client demolished a cottage on historic Crane Island in Lake Minnetonka and built a new home sensitive to the character and scale of neighboring homes.
Design team: Thomas Meyer, Allison Salzman, Sam Edelstein and Dan Vercruysse, MS&R.
Project: A two-story home in Golden Valley marries traditional design with sustainable building practices to conserve energy and water for decades to come.
Design team: Architect Ryan Fish. Architect Dan Nepp and project manager Janet Lederle,TEA2 Architects.
Project: A new home on a Minnetonka suburban lot was designed to look like an old foursquare with a big front porch, central staircase and other urban home characteristics.
Design team: Jean Rehkamp Larson and Ryan Lawinger, Rehkamp Larson Architects.
Project: Economy of form and materials, without sacrificing performance and amenities, guided the design of a modern box-shaped home sheathed in fiber cement and gypsum.
Design team: John Dwyer, John Gavin Dwyer Architect, while at Shelter Architecture.
Project: A compact modern home that "lives large" with an open floor plan, built-ins and cantilevered bays.
Design team: Ben Awes, Christian Dean and Bob Ganser, CityDeskStudio.
Project: Midcentury modern architecture, abstract Dutch and Russian paintings, and works by Mies van der Rohe inspired the design of this glass and concrete home on a wooded site overlooking a river valley.
Design team: Kerrik Wessel and Heather Sexton, Wessel Design.
LYNN UNDERWOOD