Shepley Bulfinch > People > Stephen J. Erwin
Growing up, I loved to build things and take them apart. I always needed to know how things worked. In attending a technical vocational high school in Boston, I realized I also had an affinity for woodworking, painting and architectural drafting. Through the advice of a friend, I began to understand that architecture might satisfy my love of construction and art. Now I have the privilege of practicing architecture at Shepley Bulfinch, occasionally building furniture at home, watching one of my sons, having inherited my obsession, taking things apart.
Historically architecture at its best is a natural by-product of its surrounding culture and natural environment. Modern architectural practice necessitates that the design team effectively assimilate the client's culture into the design process. Without an intimate understanding of this context, architecture runs the risk of not being "of the place." At a major liberal arts university, we were told by the client that the building that we designed for them "could not exist on any other campus." It had to be quintessentially them; I remember this with every one of my projects. That same client commented that they learned things about themselves that they did not know before we started the process. This to me is a measure of true professional success.
Projects
Harvard Innovation LabHarvard Business School
New Residential Village
Bates College
Comp Science Bldg and Mason Hall
Johns Hopkins University
Campus Master Plan
Bucknell University
University Center
Hamline University