We use design to build a story so that space is given purpose, context, and maximum utility. Architecture is capable of shaping our urban fabric and affecting individual's lives. Public architecture, in particular, can shape the attitudes of an entire community, if not society as a whole.
With this inspiration in mind, Scott Erdy and David McHenry joined forces back in 1999 to carry out their first architectural project as a team, the Southern Poverty Law Center. With prior experience at a larger firm under their belts, the team quickly found success and were able to launch into projects of scale and complexity not always possible for a start-up firm. Right away, that first project of theirs garnered them both a Philadelphia AIA Gold Medal and the cover of the September 2001 Architecture Magazine.
Erdy McHenry has continued to win numerous awards for their innovative work and efforts, and have created many fully realized buildings for a diverse set of clientele. All of the firm’s projects emphasize construction technology, systems integration design, and material cost as the primary methods for creating successful critical design projects.
Educated in the modernist tradition, Scott and Dave are creating an economical, digitally-driven method of construction, which embraces the purity of material tectonics while revealing the aesthetic of space. Erdy McHenry’s philosophy is to ensure engagement with each site and to embody a local context and sense of purpose within each design. Every project presents enormous opportunities for a site to express its sense of place and purpose, to strengthen relationships within its surrounding community, and to delineate a path for a better quality of urban life.