Board of Directors

SPOTLIGHT...

Ed Hord, FAIA, was born in Miami, Florida and moved to Abilene in his parents’ home state of Texas when he was six years old. He recalls first considering architecture as a career while reading The Fountainhead in junior high school. Ed attended Washington University in St. Louis on scholarship and graduated with an M.Arch. in 1970. Later that year, his fellowship work in tensile structures culminated in the design and construction of a tent used in the exhibit of the work of Frei Otto in the courtyard of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York.

Early in his career, Ed’s chief ambition was to work with either Kenzo Tange in Japan or Moshe Safdie in Montreal. He corresponded with Safdie for several years while holding positions at Keyes Lethbridge & London and Chloethiel Woodard Smith Associated Architects in Washington, DC.

Ed’s determination paid off, and in 1973, he joined Safdie’s 12-person firm in Montreal. There he gained international experience, working on a variety of projects in Senegal, Iran and Israel, as well as North America. Also during this period, Ed and his wife, graphics designer Aviva Hord, began raising their daughters, Meira and Talya.

In 1976, while handling construction administration part-time for one of Safdies’s projects, Cold Spring New Town, Ed began his own design practice in Baltimore. In 1977, he joined with architect Lee Coplan and landscape architect Carol Macht to form Hord Coplan Macht.

Their first year was punctuated by a flood in the firm’s offices, located on the bottom floor of a historic Mount Washington fire station. Fortunately, most of their drawings were on Mylar and could be hosed off and hung up to dry. While searching for new office space, the firm moved temporarily to the residence of employee Jamie Snead, who was leasing Safdie’s town house in Cold Spring New Town. Shortly thereafter, the firm hired Steve Ziger and moved to a row house in Charles Village.

During the 1980’s, the firm experienced steady growth to 20 employees, requiring an addition to their offices on St. Paul Street. Significant projects during that period included Harbor Hill Apartments, Old Friends School Apartments, Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital, the Du Burns Indoor Soccer Arena and the headquarters for Yellow Transportation.

In 1993, the firm was invited to merge with the west coast firm of Anshen & Allen. An increase in staff meant a move to new offices, located on Pratt Street, where the firm expanded its health care, housing and planning capabilities. Significant work included numerous projects at Sinai Hospital and the Kennedy Krieger Institute, several thousand units of multi-family housing, and planning for Loyola College of Maryland.

In 1997, the firm reestablished as Hord Coplan Macht, Inc. and moved to the Candler Building. Over the past seven years, it has grown from 20 to 55 staff members and continues its multidisciplinary practice, with an emphasis on housing, health care, adaptive reuse, institutional and planning projects.

Ed specializes in housing, including senior housing, lofts, student and military housing, group homes, assisted living facilities, garden apartments, and high rises. The firm has designed nearly 10,000 units to date. Ed also leads many of the firm’s adaptive reuse projects, turning historic schools into housing, and warehouses into corporate offices like the Phillips Seafood headquarters.

Lee Coplan specializes in institutional projects for clients such as Sinai Hospital and Western Maryland Health System. Carol Macht leads the landscape architecture staff in land planning and landscape design, including ongoing projects at Loyola College of Maryland, Goucher College and security design projects around the U.S. Capitol.

This spring, Hord Coplan Macht moved to 750 East Pratt Street, overlooking the Inner Harbor and East Baltimore. It also recently expanded ownership to include eight other senior members of the firm.

Ed’s active AIA commitment has extended over twenty years, beginning as a local board member. He served as treasurer in 1988 and 1989, and president-elect in 1990. As president in 1991, he worked closely with treasurer Laurie Feinberg and president-elect Steve Ziger to keep AIABaltimore afloat during difficult a financial period.

Ed began holding offices for AIA Maryland in 1988, serving as treasurer through 1990, and then as president in 1992. He represented the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council (MARC) on the AIA National Board of Directors from 1994-96, and was AIA national vice-president in 1998.

In 1994, while on the AIA’s national board of directors, Ed served on a Component Assistance Team (CAT) to help AIA New Jersey find solutions to their financial difficulties. In 1995, he led a committee that negotiated the eventual sale of the AIA magazine publishing rights to ARCHITECTURE RECORD. This sale developed into a valuable strategic partnership between the AIA and McGraw-Hill.

Ed also worked for two years on the initial proposal for a national AIA advertising campaign. After much research and discussion, the proposal for a dues assessment to fund the campaign was accepted at the 1996 convention. The campaign has continued and by all measurements has been successful in helping the public understand the role of architects.

Ed was board liaison with the American Institute of Architectural Students from 1995-96. He became a member of the College of Fellows in 1996.

Locally, Ed serves on several boards, including the Baltimore Architecture Foundation, Preservation Maryland, and the building committee of the National Aquarium in Baltimore. A long-time supporter of Morgan State University, he is the chair of the Advisory Committee for the Institute of Architecture and Planning. For the past two years, Ed has served as the Fellows Liaison on our AIABaltimore board of directors.