Top Twin Cities architects will converge on the beautiful Hotel Ivy in Downtown Minneapolis this Thursday evening, and the time is perfect to see and hear about some of the best new homes around. The scene is the RAVE Awards, produced by Mpls.St.Paul Magazine and the Minnesota chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Besides the program's keynote—architect Charles D. Liddy of Miller Dunwiddie Architecture talking about the importance of preserving Minnesota buildings—you'll get a big-screen tour of the nine award-winning homes, hosted by architect Phillip Koski and yours truly. Four of the award winners are the architects' own homes. One of my favorites is this project, which EcoDEEP architects Kevin Flynn and Roxanne Nelson call home. The dramatically renovated Cape Cod in St. Paul's Highland Park neighborhood features dozens of environmentally friendly features.

Other projects are more traditional. One of the most impressive is this renovation by
TEA 2 Architects' Tom Ellison and Andrea Peschel Swan. Swan has since founded the the firm Swan+Simmons with architect Charlie Simmons.

The event is sure to provide plenty of inside scoop from the architects and homeowners themselves. You'll also have the opportunity to meet the architects at a reception and get a behind-the-scenes tour of the Hotel Ivy by Ed Wilms from Walsh Bishop, the architectural firm behind the hotel's renovation. Buy tickets online for a discount. Hope to see you there!