Office History
MID 1920s - 1940s
Founded in 1923, Perry Shaw and Hepburn, Architects, established itself with a mix of academic, civic, residential and commercial projects. Work from this first generation reflects a range of historical motifs popular at the time, often interpreted in simplified, idiosyncratic form. The firm's first major commission was awarded in 1927 and called for the master planning and complete restoration of Colonial Williamsburg. The immense scope of the project carried the firm through the Great Depression, and ultimately encompassed 84 reconstructed and 66 restored structures.
1926
COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG RESTORATION, Williamsburg, VA
1934
RADCLIFFE COLLEGE, LONGFELLOW HALL, Cambridge, MA
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, HOUGHTON RARE BOOK LIBRARY
Cambridge, MA
1941
1947 - 1952
By the 1940s, the renamed Perry Shaw Kehoe and Dean, Architects, were a fixture in the Boston architecture scene, and were commissioned for a series of important buildings in and around the city.
1947
JORDAN MARSH DEPARTMENT STORE, Boston, MA
MIT BAKER HOUSE, Cambridge, MA
1949
1952 - 1970s
The firm has changed its name several time under this period. By 1950s, renamed as Perry Shaw Hepburn and Dean, Architects, the firm continued with a wide variety of projects, including a growing focus on college and university work. Long-term relationships with several universities cemented the firm's commitment to academic architecture, and provided an opportunity to observe evolving campus requirements over time. The firm's involvement with schools was also comprehensive in its scale, ranging from master planning at Furman University to developing the case study room model still in use today at Harvard Business School. During this period, the firm's designs explored vernacular influences, international Style simplicity, and Brutalist monumentality, reflecting the influence of their specific geographic and historical contexts.
1955
FURMAN UNIVERSITY MASTER PLAN, Greenville, SC 1952
HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL, Cambridge, MA
1955
1956
AMERICAN MILITARY CEMETERY, Cambridge, England
BOSTON MUSEUM OF SCIENCE, Cambridge, MA
1959
1965 - 1968 Firm name change to Perry Dean Hepburn and Stewart
1968 - 1975 Firm name change to Perry Dean and Stewart
1975 - 1976 Firm name change to Perry Dean Partners Inc.
1976 - 1982 Firm name change to Perry Dean Stahl & Rogers Inc.
1977
MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL, COX BUILDING, Boston, MA
McLEAN HOSPITAL, HALL MERCER CHILDREN'S CENTER, Belmont, MA
1977
1977
WELLESLEY COLLEGE SCIENCE CENTER, Wellesley, MA
U.S.P.S. SOUTH POSTAL ANNEX, Boston, MA
1979
1982 - Present
By the 1980s, renamed as Perry Dean Rogers and Partners, the firm was pursuing larger commissions, and focusing on buildings for higher education. Several substantial academic commissions, including the Olin Memorial Library addition at Wesleyan University, and Beineke Student Activities Village at Hamilton College, provided opportunities to develop new architectural strategies, and became emblematic of the firm's work from this period. Inventive interpretations of historical motifs, revealed building systems, and bright color palettes combine differently in each new project,establishing a body of work actively engaged with the contemporary architectural discourse of high post-modernism. Under this third generation of leadership, the firm also explored international work, with a design for the US Embassy in Amman, Jordan.
1984
HAMILTON COLLEGE STUDENT ACTIVITIES VILLAGE, Clinton, NY
WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY, OLIN LIBRARY, Middletown, CT
1986
1992
U.S. EMBASSY, Amman, Jordan