The American Institute of Architects has announced that the Minneapolis firm that designed the restoration of the Minnesota State Capitol has won a 2020 AIA architecture award that recognizes “the best contemporary architecture.”

The firm, HGA, designed the four-year, $310 million Capitol restoration project that was completed in 2017. Architect Cass Gilbert’s iconic masterpiece, built between 1898 and 1904, the Capitol faced significant water infiltration, dangerous exterior stone conditions and outdated infrastructure systems before state officials approved the preservation effort in 2012.

RELATED: See what $310 million can buy at renovated State Capitol

“Balancing innovative solutions and high-impact interventions, the team was able to seamlessly blend modern systems into the existing historic fabric. Today the capitol is a true state-of-the-art government building ready to serve the people for another century and beyond,” the AIA said of HGA’s design.

The Capitol was one of eight projects that received AIA awards this year. Other winners include the Jishou Art Museum in China, the Calgary Central Library in Canada, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in India, the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship in Chicago, the Floral Court in London, the Glenstone Museum in Maryland, and the Tivoli Hjørnet in Denmark.

RELATED: Take a virtual-reality tour of the renovated, resplendent State Capitol