After Dan Shipley graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, he worked for both a large firm, HKS, and one of the most important small Dallas architectural firms, Thomas and Booziotis. He approaches the smallest detail of a project or a building with an inventive eye that is not contrived, but celebrates the materials in place or brought to the project. He has found beautiful solutions to projects other prominent architects would find too confusing to consider. He has received many awards for these efforts and in 2003 the American Institute of Architects elevated him to the College of Fellows.