Who We Are
History
Amish Barn in Illinois with Dave in foreground.
Echo Studio was formed in 2002 by me, Dave Hampton, to integrate my skills and experience in architecture, sustainability, and high-performance buildings, as well as my interest in music.
Echoes before Chicago
The faint stirrings of Echo can be traced back as far as my childhood in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with its straddling of rural and urban, traditional and contemporary. After attending a pre-college summer introductory course to architecture at Pratt Institute as well as The Governor’s School of NC in violin, I had a new focus for my attention to detail, graphic skills, and growing appreciation for contemporary music. Upon receiving my Bachelor’s in Architecture from Virginia Tech in 1995, a friend and I traveled to Barcelona and London for three months but could find no work, and I returned to my home town.
Working from 1995-1999 with David Gall, an architect from rural Pennsylvania, on projects which included a school, preservation of a historic train station, and a family center, honed my skills in organization, good detailing, and exposed me to working with social and philanthropic groups. I was also able to keep up with violin, playing with the Wake Forest University Orchestra.
Chicago 2001-present
After a brief stint working in the design and manufacturing process of prefabricated buildings, I moved to Chicago in 2001 to join Skidmore Owings, and Merrill, earned my North Carolina and Illinois architectural licenses, and began improvising in earnest after buying an electric pickup for the violin. After a year, I moved to STL Architects in 2002 to work on five senior activity centers for the City of Chicago and a small addition to an 1890’s Episcopal church. I also began attending classes at the Chicago Center for Green Technology and earned four certificates in their pilot programs on sustainable design and energy efficiency. In 2005, I left STL to devote my time fully to Echo Studio and continue helping Urban Habitat Chicago, a nonprofit I helped found, find ways to promote sustainability in urban environments.
Collaboration
Looking back on my best work, I realized it was always informed and inspired by the images, works, and words of others, and often took shape in dialogue or in direct collaboration with others. I have been fortunate to work over the years with talented friends and colleagues on projects that helped to test and refine the collaborative nature of what would become Echo Studio. Among these projects are Sushi Taro, the Warren-Boulton Residence, the Global Green Competition, and the World Trade Center Memorial Competition.
The way forward: High-performance buildings
Recently, Echo Studio has undertaken steps to focus on high-performance standards in the buildings it designs.
The Bronzeville rehab project is not only a model of cost-efficient advanced thermal envelope design, but an example of a way of working that leads the way forward to a more inclusive, multidisciplinary approach to design, analysis, construction, and building performance verification.
Resources
Download a resume (PDF format, 124 KB) for Dave Hampton
Learn about the Echo Studio team.
Current Projects
Past Projects
Espiritu Santo Church, Maywood, IL, 2004-2005.
Rendering from Fifth St.
Architect: STL Architects, Inc.
Englewood Senior Center, Chicago, IL, 2002-2004.
Exterior view.
Architect: STL Architects, Inc.
Field Museum east entry, Chicago, IL, 2001-2002.
Interior view with skylight.
Architect: Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP
Methodist Family Restoration Center, Franklin, NC, 1999.
Exterior view at night.
Architect: David E. Gall Architect
Bachelor of Architecture thesis, Virginia Tech, 1994.
Plans, sections, and elevations of concert hall.
Bachelor of Architecture thesis, Virginia Tech, 1994.
Night rendering of concert hall.