ARCH Inc., the historic preservation non-profit organization serving Allen County and Northeast Indiana, invites everyone who knows of a historic building that has been successfully preserved in the past three years to nominate it for a 2023 ARCHie Award.

ARCH is accepting nominations through March 10, 2023, for its annual award program that recognizes the preservation efforts of individuals, businesses and institutions in Fort Wayne, Allen County and Northeast Indiana. ARCH’s OUTREACH ARCHie Awards program for historic preservation projects in Northeast Indiana’s 10 counties surrounding Allen County continues in 2023 and again will honor at least one worthy preservation project in the region.

ARCHies for outstanding single family, multifamily, commercial and institutional restoration projects may be awarded as worthy candidates are identified. Any nominated project must have had work that has been completed in the past three calendar years and be located in Allen County or one of the following counties of Northeast Indiana: Adams, Wells, Huntington, Wabash, Whitley, Kosciusko, Noble, DeKalb, Lagrange and Steuben.

ARCH has been presenting ARCHie Awards since 1977. The 2023 ARCHie Awards will be presented at a reception in May 2022.

Use the online nomination form below, or call the ARCH office at 260-426-5117 for a paper form or to receive one via email.

Here is the full description of the ARCHie Awards program, the categories, and the criteria for awards.

Rationale

ARCH, Inc.’s annual ARCHie Awards recognizes high-quality historic preservation projects in Fort Wayne, Allen County, and the rest of ARCH’s 11-county service area in Northeast Indiana. The additional counties eligible to enter projects for ARCHie Outreach Awards are Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells, and Whitley. The ARCHie Awards are intended to encourage continued high-quality historic preservation activity in the area by honoring successful projects. Also, they are intended to raise public awareness about what high-quality historic preservation is and about the value and importance of historic preservation in our communities. Successful ARCHie Award nominees most often package high-quality work in exterior, interior and landscape, and the award committee is glad to receive information about all work invested in a project.

Eligibility

  • Only completed projects will be considered.
  • Majority of work must have been completed within the past three years.
  • Award goes to owner completing majority of the work. If work was completed in the past three years but the property has already been sold, the nomination should be written for the owner who completed the work.
  • Winning property owners are notified and invited to the awards presentation event in May.

Award Criteria

  • Projects should closely follow the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is defined as “the process of returning a property to a state of utility, through repair or alteration, which makes possible an efficient contemporary use while preserving those portions and features of the property which were significant to its historic, architectural and cultural values.”
  • Original materials should be repaired rather than replaced. When materials are replaced, they should be replaced in-kind.
  • Original landscape features should be preserved when present.
  • Awards are based on work largely visible from public rights-of-way. Interior or structural work can be described in the nomination, but it will not be evaluated for the award.
  • Outreach Awards are for projects in all categories but located in ARCH’s service area outside of Allen County.
  • Properties nominated within City of Fort Wayne Designated Local Historic Districts or other local-government-designated districts where conformation to guidelines is required must have received proper Certificates of Appropriateness for work completed and work must conform to Historic Preservation Commission Guidelines in effect in the jurisdiction.
  • ARCH’s Preservation Committee reserves the right to present awards in categories for which appropriate nominations are made and may create special awards when circumstances dictate.
  • Nominations are evaluated by the ARCH Preservation Committee and presented for approval by the ARCH Board of Directors. 

 Award Categories

Rehabilitation Awards (based on property type): Single-Family, Multi-Family, Commercial or Institutional/Government

Adaptive Reuse: Returning a building to an active use different from its original intent through rehabilitation. Alterations meet contemporary needs while respecting the original character of the building.

Compatible New Construction: New building addition or new construction that is respectful of the original structure and/or surrounding historic buildings and neighborhood. New construction should be differentiated from surrounding historic buildings but still compatible.

Outreach Awards

Rehabilitation Awards (based on property type): Single-Family, Multi-Family, Commercial or Institutional/Governmental

Adaptive Reuse: Returning a building to an active use different from its original intent through rehabilitation. Alterations meet contemporary needs while respecting the original character of the building.

Compatible New Construction: New building addition or new construction that is respectful of the original structure and/or surrounding historic buildings and neighborhood. New construction should be differentiated from surrounding historic buildings but still compatible.