The Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) received two prestigious building awards within the last two weeks: a 2014 Honor Award for Design Excellence from AIA Wisconsin and a Top Project of 2013 Award from The Daily Reporter. 

Both awards celebrate the new building, which opened a year ago at 205 Veterans Ave. in West Bend. 

"MOWA is honored to receive these awards for excellence in architectural design," said Laurie Winters, MOWA Executive Director / CEO. "These awards reflect the exceptional vision of Jim Shields and the museum’s construction committee which included MOWA’s top leadership. Their foresight has now put MOWA on the map as a top regional art museum in the country."

The $9.3 million building was designed by Jim Shields, FAIA, project lead designer at HGA Architects and Engineers (HGA) and built by Mortenson Construction. 

Throughout last year, MOWA has been honored with numerous other building awards, including the 2013 Real Estate Award for Best New Cultural Institution from the Milwaukee Business Journal, 2013 Vision Award for Achievement from the Wisconsin Commercial Real Estate Women, 2013 Business Beautification Award from West Bend Mutual Insurance Company and Building of the Week in the 2013 50x50 – 50 States in 50 Weeks Series on American-Architects.com.