3 Finalists Each Awarded $3,000 and Overall Winner Receives Trophy
Jacob Bielanski, of Van Cleave Architecture + Design, receives the ADU Design Challenge trophy as the overall winner. The award is presented by Lewis Kuhlman, from the City of La Crosse
The City of La Crosse, AARP Wisconsin, and AIA Wisconsin held an open house on November 21 for the public to see the 3 winning designs from the recently held Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Design Challenge. The finalists each received a $3,000 award and gave presentations at the event to compete for the overall winner trophy. The design led by Jacob Bielanski of Milwaukee’s Van Cleave Architecture + Design won the trophy as the design that best met the goals of the Challenge.
The ADU Design Competition held an open call, inviting architects, designers, and innovators to submit their best ADU design and compete for one of three $3,000 prizes. The submissions were expected to meet technical requirements while highlighting sustainability, affordability, and accessibility — key values that will help shape the future of housing in La Crosse.
The 3 finalists who gave presentations at the event were Bielanski, Matt Bryan of La Crosse’s River Architects, and Lucas Reed, a student at Western Technical College.
After the presentations, a panel of five evaluators with expertise in architecture and homebuilding deliberated about the designs and determined Bielanski’s submission best met the various requirements.
An online library of all the submitted designs will be posted soon on the La Crosse Climate Action Plan website.