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Ed Hodges

Ed practices with an artistic eye and practical hand using the experience he gained as a carpenter to inform his designs. Ed’s design philosophy is that buildings should represent themselves with distinction and bring delight to their users. He works to ensure these values inform the current work of DiMella Shaffer, reinforcing his long held belief in the value of the “craft” of architecture. After spending part of his early career at DiMella Shaffer working under the mentorship of Remmert Huygens, Frank DiMella, Peter Shaffer and others, he returned to the firm in 2001. With the experience gained from working on higher education projects for national design firms, he led the strategic push to expand the higher education practice of the firm. Ed’s interest in sustainability grows out of his experience in vernacular housing approaches from buildings in his native North Carolina, to a semester abroad in Denmark, to his current residence in the northeast. With 32 years of professional experience, Ed was named CEO in 2012 and continues to practice in both the higher education and multifamily sectors. In 2015, Ed managed to squeeze another title under his belt: author. Writing nearly every week for a year, he captured an almost complete 50-year history of DiMella Shaffer in the Building Conversations blog. Ed is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of North Carolina State University with degrees in Environmental Design and Architecture.