Personalizing Architecture

We specialize in hand-crafting healthcare, education,
commercial, and indigenous architecture.

Enriching Communities Through Healthcare Architecture Indigenous Architecture Education Architecture Commercial Architecture Sustainable Design Housing Workplace Design Civic Architecture Interior Design

After 85 years, we still believe that no matter where you live and work, every community deserves great architecture. The best buildings reflect the character of a region whether its in a rural or urban area. We excel at collaborating, listening and designing for you.

Recent Projects

Welia Health

Healthcare

As a leading provider of rural healthcare services in East-Central Minnesota and Western Wisconsin, Wealia Health is known for their approach to care. Their personalized attention along with a wellness focus and deep sense of community helped to build their facility that will serve individuals and families for years to come.

MHA Nation Cultural Interpretive Center

Indigenous, Civic

DSGW has a culturally conceived engagement process that fosters two-way learning and discussion to create our Indigenous designs. This results in lessons, imagery and concepts that are immersed in culture and inform design decisions. Resiliency was key in bringing the MHA Interpretive Center to life.

Spero Academy

Education

Spero Academy, a tuition-free public charter school for students with disabilities, partnered with DSGW to design a new Brooklyn Park campus. The school offers personalized education in a safe and secure environment, meeting the needs of a growing community. To best serve students and staff, DSGW collaborated with educators and specialists.

DSGW at a Glance

YEARS

LICENSED/ ACCREDITED PROFESSIONALS

OFFICES ACROSS MINNESOTA

REGISTERED STATES

INDIGENOUS NATIONS AS CLIENTS

Personalized Architecture: DSGW's Core Philosophies

DESIGN FOR WELLNESS

Our design process creates spaces that integrate health and wellbeing into every project — whether new construction or remodeling your office space.

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

Green design creates calming and healthy environments that elevate the daily lives of employees and visitors.

RESEARCH BASED ARCHITECTURE

We base our designs off of credible research and our own key-learnings in an effort to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Our Values

HONOR
PARTNERSHIP
STEWARDSHIP
INTENTIONAL DESIGN

DSGW's Approach

DSGW provides clarity through our immersive 7 step planning process which helps create an informed decision making environment between our clients.

Headquartered in Minnesota, Building Communities Nationwide

Architecture
Interior design
Master planning
Construction administration
Sustainable design
Brand integration

Play Video

Personalized Architecture: Understanding Places and People

DSGW’s design is personalized to culture and place—whether for a Tribal clinic or a visionary new high school and career academy. We value connection to people and places—to the regional economies and cultural histories of the clients that we serve.

DSGW brings state-of-the-art planning, design, and architecture to our clients with a unique focus on local history and culture—whether for a corporate client or a regional hospital system.

We hold these values because our firm originated in a small community with deep ties to the land and its resources. Our founders knew many of their clients personally. Today, we come to know our clients and their communities too—especially after years of collaboration with them.

This local knowledge and listening can make all the difference in building support for a community referendum or in reaching out to all stakeholder groups—including people who never thought their input mattered.

“Throughout the planning, design, and construction for the Red Lake Capitol project, DSGW was great to work with. While developing the program for the College and Government Center, DSGW facilitated user group meeting with Tribal departments that occupy the new buildings. We were impressed by their ability to analyze the information and offer multiple solutions to the challenges at hand. We truly enjoy working with DSGW. I would highly recommend them for their professionalism and overall team approach.”

– Eugene McArthur, former Director of Development, Red Lake Nation

Projects Under Design

Riverwood Healthcare Center

Healthcare

The expanded Riverwood Healthcare Center in Aitkin, Minnesota will allow for an increased volume of patients and provide additional staff spaces to accommodate the region’s growing need.

Nashwauk-Keewatin School and Community Wellness Center

Education

The Nashwauk-Keewatin schools for Pre-K through 12th grade students is designed implementing different types of learning environments with a focus centered around career academies to prepare students to enter the workforce.

North Segment Community Center

Civic, Indigenous

The North Segment Community Center will offer a vibrant mix of indoor and outdoor activities for all ages. On the grounds, enjoy frisbee golf, basketball, volleyball, and more! Inside, splash in the pool with a lazy river under a retractable roof. A craft room, elders kitchen, gym, and walking track provide additional entertainment. Sustainability shines through with ICF construction, solar panels, and a Net-Zero greenhouse.

John Erickson, Managing Principal

“At DSGW, I manage the project through all phases of design. I enjoy getting to know the community when collaboration starts during the early phases of a project.”

Indigenous Design, Inspired by Native American History

MHA INTERPRETIVE CENTER | NEW TOWN, ND

The MHA Interpretive Center tells a story of resilience between three affiliated tribes; Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations. The facility uses living history programs to share the story of the Great MHA Nation and the design was created in a circular nature to mimic a traditional earth lodge structure. The circular central commons area of the building is meant for flexible use while the ancillary spaces around the perimeter can be used for meetings, ceremonies and demonstrations. DSGW has a culturally conceived engagement process that fosters two-way learning and discussion. This results in lessons, imagery and concepts that are immersed in culture and inform design decisions.

View
Project More About Cultural
Design Integration

Integrated Interior Design

Our interior design team and architects are experts work side-by-side at the onset of a project. This enables us to plan and design in collaboration, focusing and getting to know the users of the building.

Space Planning and Facility Programming

This is where DSGW gets to practice our craft. Our approach is simple; plan your work your plan. Our DSGW team will explore the best possible use of the building and how the space can influence the user of the building. Together, we will build consensus between stakeholders and make sure your building meets your budget and function requirements.

Construction Administration and Project Management

Project managers and construction administrators serve as liaisons between the client and contractor, and manage the entire bidding and construction process through to occupancy. They assist in bid preparation and procurements and bid evaluations, as well as promoting the use of local craftspeople and labor. The project management and construction administration professionals are available to answer questions, clarify documentation and lead construction meetings. They are on-site on a regular basis, reporting on progress, schedules and any unforeseen changes. This step employs the three-legged stool mindset, positioning contractors, architects and owners as equal partners in the development of the space.

Blending History with Modern Convenience and Amenities

CENTRAL FLATS | SUPERIOR, WISCONSIN

Central Flats blends the best of historic Superior with modern convenience and amenities. This new mixed-use development features micro, alcove, one, two and three bedroom apartments, an Entertaining Suite for residents to hold conferences or gatherings, a library and fitness room. Outside, residents can enjoy games and socializing at one of the three amenity decks.

View
Project Read About DSGW’s
Core Philosophies

DSGW News

Planning for a Resilient Future Through Wellness Design

The built environment has a significant impact on our physical and mental health. In recent years, there has been a growing focus on wellness and inclusive design in architecture and interior design. This approach seeks to create spaces that promote health, well-being, and accessibility for all.

DSGW explores how wellness design can be achieved through a variety of means, such as using natural materials, providing access to natural light and views, and creating spaces that are comfortable and inviting. Inclusive design is about creating spaces that are accessible and usable by everyone, regardless of their age, ability, or background.

Sustainable Design Architecture

FOUR WINDS ALTERNATIVE AND CTE HIGH SCHOOL | FORT TOTTEN, NORTH DAKOTA

Sustainability means that your building is built to perform, not simply to say “we’re green”. It isn’t a new concept to DSGW, it’s a concept we’ve layered into our architectural design, no matter the budget. Many of our clients state we designed a building they never thought possible–daylight, green design, calming environments all while reducing energy costs and the carbon footprint.

View Project: Four Winds
Alternative High School More about Sustainable
Design Architecture

We are makers of the built environment – and we want that environment to be healthy.

- Client Name, Project Name

We are passionate about wellness-informed design.

Play Video

You are driven, creative and collaborative. So are we. Let’s work together!

“We're given a lot of freedom to work on projects, but when I need help, there are so many experts on staff, we are able to solve problems quickly.”

- Chris Kroeger, DSGW Designer & Project Manager

No great design springs from one individual. It takes an entire team, united behind something big. At DSGW we think globally, stand outside the box and help our communities grow through thoughtful design. Join our team by checking out our career opportunities.

Play Video

What it’s like to work with DSGW

Many firms will tell you they listen. But there’s more to it than that. Our DSGW team takes the time to understand, to interpret what we’ve heard from your community and stakeholders, and apply our design sensibility to it. We don’t just listen and do; we seek to know your community, demographics and operational challenges as if they were our own.

To us, architecture should enhance and enrich a community; not override it. The best buildings reflect the character of a region, whether it’s critical access care in the rural midwest or urban dwellings. Great architecture instills a sense of pride into those who live and work there.

With every project, our goal is to make sense of complexity so your job gets easier. DSGW provides clarity through planning and programming instead of introducing more challenges later on in design. If we do our job right, our design will answer the questions that haven’t been asked yet.