News
DELV Receives Three Awards from AIA Indiana
We’ve been honored over the years to have been recognized both locally and nationally amongst our peers. Most recently, we were recognized with three awards for design excellence from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Indiana. From hospitality to adaptive reuse to civic design, these projects reflect our team’s ethos: design with curiosity, tell stories through architecture, and shape spaces that matter.
Café Patachou at Nickel Plate – Honor Award
Café Patachou in Fishers transforms a critical node within Indiana’s Nickel Plate District with a unique community-centric design. The 3,000 sf restaurant’s design creates an intimate atmosphere through strategic space planning, a whimsical material palette, and outdoor connectivity despite its challenging site constraints. Through its thoughtful activation, this elevated gathering place amplifies the district’s growing vibrancy.
JURY COMMENTS
With such a simple form and sited with no “back side”, it’s the thoughtful use and careful detailing of masonry colors, patterns, and coursing that bring interest and scale to the building exterior. The interior is a striking, modern take on southern tradition.
The Stutz Adaptive Reuse – Merit Award
The Stutz, an iconic architectural piece of Indianapolis’ story, has been adapting to changing needs for over a century. With its seven buildings, four stories, and over 400,000 sf newly renovated, it is primed for its next chapter of vibrancy: a community-centric destination for food, retail, fitness, work, and events.
JURY COMMENTS
Several wonderful warehouse adaptations were submitted in this category, and this was the best of the best. It elevates the alleys into active, enjoyable spaces that are every bit as attractive as the indoor spaces. The interior architecture achieves a pleasant variety of spaces including bright, animated spaces and cozy, intimate spaces. Very gentle touches on the exterior, including the windows and lighting, let the historic structure shine.
Fishers Municipal Center – Citation Award
Re-imagining what a city hall could be, this municipal building is a central hub for artistic expression and education, provides more accessible and inclusive public gathering spaces, houses city staff in a cross-collaborative environment, and is a prominent landmark to welcome residents and visitors into the downtown cultural district.
JURY COMMENTS
This project reinvented the aesthetic of an existing typical municipal building with a very new expression. It skillfully resolves a complicated program – needing to have public circulation throughout the building – while at the same time addressing strict site requirements and integrating exterior and interior spaces.
Extending Gratitude
We are truly grateful to our clients who trusted us to bring these visions to life, to our partners who collaborated with us throughout each project’s journey, and to AIA Indiana for recognizing the work.
These honors inspire us to keep pushing forward — to explore, to question, and to design spaces that enrich the culture of the communities around us. We are proud to be included among 2025’s AIA honorees and to continue advancing architecture that is as meaningful as it is memorable.