EHDD


Esherick Homsey Dodge and Davis is a United States-based architecture, interiors, planning and urban design firm. EHDD, ranked among the top 20 architecture firms in the San Francisco Bay Area where it is headquartered, is known especially for seismically safe, sustainable designs. From its early residential work, to The Sea Ranch and Monterey Bay Aquarium, to more recent LEED® certified and net-zero buildings, the firm is recognized for collaboration, commitment to innovation and investigation, and responsiveness to location, light and climate.

History

EHDD grew out of a practice founded in 1946 by the late American architect Joseph Esherick. Esherick began his career designing houses for the architect Gardner Dailey and maintained an interest in private residences throughout his life. He taught at the University of California, Berkeley, was among the faculty who supported William Wurster's founding of the College of Environmental Design in 1959, and served as chair of the Architecture Department. Esherick received the AIA Gold Medal in 1989 and the first AIA California Council Maybeck Award in 1992.
In 1951, George W. Homsey joined Joseph Esherick, followed by adding Peter Dodge in 1956, and Chuck Davis in 1962. In 1963 the firm became Joseph Esherick and Associates reflecting their partnership. The firm's early years were primarily devoted to residential work. By the mid-1960s the firm was taking on larger and more complex projects particularly in higher education but in other sectors as well. In 1972, Joseph Esherick and Associates became Esherick Homsey Dodge and Davis.
In the late 1970s, the firm was commissioned to design Monterey Bay Aquarium which opened in 1984 and won the National Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects in 1988. This proved to be a seminal project, expanding the firm's involvement in large aquarium, zoo and museum projects. Through the 1980s and continuing to the present, the firm's work has included a wide range of building types and scales in both the public and private sectors. Esherick Homsey Dodge and Davis was given the AIA California Council Firm Award in 1980 and the AIA National Firm of the Year Award in 1986. The AIA California Council awarded the Maybeck Award to Chuck Davis in 2003 and to George Homsey in 2006. Peter Dodge received the AIA Council Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Service in 2008.
With Joseph Esherick's passing in 1998, the firm began to change its management structure and implement a succession plan. George Homsey and Peter Dodge had become independent consultants in 1995. In 2001, Duncan Ballash, Jennifer Devlin and Marc L'Italien became principals and Scott Shell became principal in 2006. While building on the legacy of the founder and original principals, in order to better reflect the changes in leadership, the firm adopted the name EHDD architecture.
Since its inception the firm has garnered more than 200 design awards and honors. In addition to 11 LEED® certified buildings, among them 5 LEED® Platinum certified projects, the firm has been awarded over 30 sustainable design awards including three Center for the Built Environment awards and three AIA Committee on the Environment Top Ten Green Building awards.

Notable buildings