The Homes by Architects Tour, founded by AIA Minnesota in 2008, is a two-day in-person and a multi-week virtual event and public outreach opportunity where architect-designed homes from around the state are showcased to a public audience.
By showcasing high-quality new and remodeled, architect-designed homes from a range of project types, sizes, budgets, and sites, the event strives to demonstrate the value of architect-led residential design and educate the public about the quality and diversity of skills an architect can offer. Additionally, the tour provides an opportunity for AIA Minnesota members to promote their services, expand their client base, and showcase their high-quality work.
The 2025 Homes by Architects Tour is a hybrid event. Homes will be available to tour in person on Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, September 28, 2025, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm each day. A virtual tour will be available to view online Saturday, September 27–Sunday, October 12.
Explore the public-facing Homes by Architects Tour website here.
Submissions now open for the 2025 Homes by Architects Tour!
Submit an in-person or virtual project for this year’s tour, including for the Small Projects Showcase! Deadline: Friday, April 18 at 12:00 pm noon CT. Submit here »
The 2025 Homes by Architects Tour is a hybrid event. Homes will be available to tour in person on Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, September 28, 2025, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm each day. A virtual tour will be available to view online Saturday, September 27–Sunday, October 12.
Read about the eligibility, submission requirements, and the review process, in the Call for Entries.
Contact Ann Mayhew at mayhew@aia-mn.org or (612) 767-1740 with questions.
Download the Call for Entries
Download the In-Person Architect Agreement
Download the Virtual Architect Agreement
Download the In-Person Projects Homeowner Agreement
Download the Virtual Projects Homeowner Agreement
Download the List of Suppliers Form
Eligibility
Residential projects designed by a registered architect, or a team where a registered architect is the lead designer, who is a current AIA Minnesota member are eligible. Projects may be new construction, remodels, or additions, and must have been completed within the past six years (as of January 1, 2025) or must be scheduled for completion by July 15, 2025. “In-person” tour projects must be located within a one-hour’s drive from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport.
Projects should exemplify the best qualities of an architect’s work, demonstrate an innovative use of design solutions and/or materials, and tell a compelling story. Projects may not be for sale before or during the tour. Custom vacation homes or accessory dwelling units built with the intention to be rented out are allowed. No firm may have more than 25 percent of the homes on the tour, and no single architect may have more than two projects on the tour.
Small Projects Showcase (600 sf or smaller)
The 2025 tour is the second year of the Small Projects Showcase pilot. In addition to supporting the tour’s overall goals above, this pilot aims to showcase the value of working with an architect for projects that are smaller than those historically shown on the tour, with a lower participation fee for the firms. The above eligibility rules apply to all Small Projects, plus the project must be 600 square feet or smaller.
Core differences between a standard tour home and small project include:
Small projects will receive a half-page in the tour program instead of a full page
Firms will have to staff the greeter table
See a detailed tour project-type comparison at the end of the Call for Entries.
Choose to Show Your Project In-Person, Virtual, or Both Ways
AIA Minnesota is pleased to offer three options for showcasing your project:
In-person only
Virtual only
Both in-person and virtual
For virtual tour homes, the project is showcased online through photography and videos (provided by the architect) and via a virtual Matterport tour. If the home is virtual only (Option #2), the physical property address will not be disclosed and no tour goers will have in-person access to the home.
Step 1: Submission Process
By completing a submission, you are not ensured a spot on the tour (see next section). To submit a project for consideration of inclusion on the tour, the following information is required:
Project information: address, project type, square footage, date of completion, descriptions
Entrant information: firm information, design team names, firm logo, architect headshot or team photo
Project images: high-resolution, print-ready project photos or, if no print-ready photos are available at the time of submission, renderings, sketches, plans, construction photos, or scouting shots; “before” photos required for remodels and additions
Floor plan: “before” floor plans are required for remodels and additions.
“Flow” plan: Required for Small Projects only; not applicable to Standard Homes. Floor plan(s) indicating a
preliminary plan for tour-goer flow through the space.
Consent forms: signed Homeowner Agreement, signed Architect Agreement
Supplier Information: list of all project partners along with contact information for each
AIA Framework for Design Excellence: Paragraph on how the project demonstrates at least one AIA
Framework for Design Excellence category
Sustainability: Description of sustainable design elements and/or processes
Materials must be submitted electronically using AIA Minnesota’s online awards platform.
The deadline to submit projects without paying a late fee penalty is Friday, April 18, 2025 by 12:00 pm noon CT. After this date, any projects accepted on the tour will be subject to a $100 late fee. Submit »
Step 2: Selection Process & Criteria
A submission is considered complete when all portions of the application are completed and signed, including the signed agreement from the homeowners to participate in the tour if their home is selected. By completing a submission, you are not ensured a spot on the tour.
Members of the AIA Minnesota residential architecture committee will review all submitted projects by May 9, 2025, and evaluate each one fairly and objectively, with a primary goal of selecting a diverse and representative range of project types, scopes, budgets, and sites that best support the programmatic objectives of the tour. All submissions are subject to final approval by AIA Minnesota staff.
Submissions are evaluated by the committee using the following questions:
Does the project demonstrate innovative use of design solutions and/or materials?
Does the project tell a compelling story that would be appealing to a broad audience?
Does the project illustrate the value of architectural services in the design solutions?
Does the project feature sustainable design elements and/or processes?
Taking into consideration the other tour submissions, how well would this project add variety to the
tour?
In-person tour projects may be asked to re-submit for a future tour if there are no other tour projects in the home’s vicinity. Virtual tour projects may be asked to re-submit for a future tour if there are fewer than three virtual tour projects total.
Step 3: Confirmation of Projects & Payment of Participation Fees
Following completion of the selection process, all submittors will be notified of the outcome. Submittors whose projects were selected for inclusion on the tour will be invited to attend an orientation session and participation fees will be collected.
In-person Standard Home format participation fee: $2,600
In-person Small Project Showcase participation fee: $1,250
Virtual format participation fee: $400 + the cost of the Matterport filming*
Virtual format participation fee if firm owns and is willing to use their own Matterport camera**: $400
*AIA Minnesota staff will, to the best of their ability, research potential vendors and get quotes to share with the architecture firm. Architecture firm will coordinate Matterport scheduling and pay the vendor directly.
**Subject to AIA Minnesota staff verification of firm’s ability to produce a Matterport virtual tour that meets the tour’s quality standards.
Participants may choose from two payment schedule options:
Plan A. Payment in full by May 31, 2025.
Plan B. Two installments: initial payment of 50% of participation fee on May 31 and final payment of remaining amount plus 10% administrative fee by June 30, 2025.