Centerbrook Announces New Principals

Centerbrook Architects and Planners announced that Elizabeth R. Hedde, AIA and Justin C. Hedde, AIA have become the firm’s newest principals.

“We are thrilled for Beth and Justin,” said Principal Jim Childress, FAIA. “They represent Centerbrook’s bright future and bring extraordinary talent and creativity to our projects. We’re confident that, with their leadership, Centerbrook is poised to continue as a design innovator for years to come."

The Principals on our rooftop deck. From left to right: Jim Childress, Todd Andrews, Beth Hedde, Justin Hedde, and Mark Simon.

The Principals on our rooftop deck. From left to right: Jim Childress, Todd Andrews, Beth Hedde, Justin Hedde, and Mark Simon.

At Yale, Beth received the William G. and Virginia Field Chester Scholarship Award and the American Institute of Architects Henry Adams Certificate. Since joining Centerbrook, she has served as a lead designer on buildings that support student engagement, intellectual curiosity, spiritual growth, and scientific exploration. She is currently designing the expansion of a Quaker day school in Pennsylvania, a campus master plan for a boarding school in Connecticut, a private residence in Florida, and an alumni center at the University of Virginia.

“I am thrilled to have this opportunity to help lead Centerbrook into the future,” said Beth. “We’re only as good as the team around us, and we have the very best here. I look forward to working with each and every one of them for years to come."

A native of Mystic, Connecticut, Justin leads Centerbrook’s in-house group that researches, documents, and disseminates information on museum trends. His projects include a master plan for a new museum of art at the University of New Hampshire, the renovation and expansion of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, the expansion of the Florence Griswold Museum in Connecticut, and the Westerly Museum of American Impressionism in Rhode Island.

“Centerbrook has an amazing legacy of design and such a wonderful culture,” said Justin. “I’m blessed to be a part of it and to nurture what Mark, Jim, Todd, and so many others created. It’s a real honor."

Beth and Justin join the firm’s ownership group that includes Mark Simon, FAIA; Jim Childress, FAIA; and Todd Andrews, AIA. They are the first to join the firm’s ownership group since 2017. Prior to joining Centerbrook in 2011, both earned their Masters of Architecture degrees at the Yale School of Architecture after matriculating at the University of Virginia and the University of Florida, respectively. They have contributed to projects for laboratories, universities, hotels and resorts, houses of worship, independent schools, and museums.