Eric Hughes, AIA

Founding Principal, Architect

CAREER + WORK

Eric Hughes hails from a small town in northeast Nebraska—a burgeoning metropolis of 1,000 where he learned to mutton bust and raise a pet buffalo. After studying architecture at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, he made his way to Houston in 2004 to earn a Master of Architecture from Rice University.

He began designing custom residential and small commercial projects at Interloop Architecture in 2008, guiding projects from schematic design through construction. He subsequently spent six years as a lead designer and project manager at Content Architecture before co-founding HR Design Department with Heather Rowell in 2018. His ability to bridge design ambition and construction reality is particularly valuable on projects where a high level of detail and material sensitivity are essential. He has a particular talent for taking familiar materials and construction methods and combining them in unexpected, practical, and often daring ways. His attention to form, proportion, and the way materials meet is central to the design character of HRDD projects, while his construction knowledge brings a valuable pragmatism to the work.

Eric’s work includes custom residences and small commercial projects as well as HRDD’s growing portfolio of institutional, cultural, and hospitality work. He values the relationships that form through the process of making a building and considers the trust developed with clients, contractors, and collaborators one of the most rewarding parts of the profession. Many past projects have grown into lasting friendships.

Eric currently serves on the MD Anderson Family YMCA Board. Outside the office, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Emily, and son, Clark, and finding opportunities to get his hands dirty with landscaping, woodworking, and home renovation projects.