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KALAMAZOO—Western Michigan University's new Sangren Hall has won a 2013 Honor Award from the Detroit chapter of the American Institute of Architecture.

The prestigious award was presented during AIA-Detroit's annual awards ceremony Sept. 19 at Detroit's Eastern Market. The award went to SHW Group, of Berkley, Mich., the firm that designed Sangren. The $60 million state-of-the-art instructional facility is home to the College of Education and Human Development and the Department of Sociology. It also is used by departments from across the campus.

This is the second recent AIA-Detroit Honor Award singling out a new 51¸£ÀûÉç building. In 2008, the Richmond Center for Visual Art was recognized through the program.

American Institute of Architecture

AIA is a national professional organization for architects founded in 1857 and based in Washington, D.C. The Detroit chapter's honor awards are for building projects anywhere in the world that are designed by Detroit chapter members. Projects by other AIA national members that are built in the Detroit area also are eligible. The AIA Honor Award was established to recognize architectural firms and professionals that "make significant contributions to the built environment."

Sangren Hall

The 230,000-square-foot Sangren Hall opened for fall classes in 2012. Funded by the state of Michigan and 51¸£ÀûÉç, the University began the construction project in 2010, completely replacing a building of the same name that was nearly 50 years old. Sustainably designed and built with the goal of achieving LEED gold certification, Sangren Hall was designed by SHW Group and constructed by Miller-Davis Co. of Kalamazoo. Together, they created a facility that has more than four dozen classrooms, thousands of instructional seats and a large grants and research center. Designed to be both functional and attractive, the new Sangren has terrazzo floors and other sustainable materials inside, such as bamboo wood veneer on doors and cork flooring.