Construction Management and Design
Craftsmanship
Original Design
Renovations
The Difficult
The primary goal of Don Simms Design Build is to provide our clients with the highest level of service and accountability in order to complete their building project as designed within budget and on time. Our number one priority is to work as a team in collaboration with the client, whether the goal is to develop an original new house design or to develop a scope of renovation work which meets a customer’s expectations.
We are a design build and construction management firm as opposed to a typical general contractor or sub-contractor. Our allegiance is to our clients by maintaining the highest quality for the least expense. We utilize the finest tradesmen available for the specified scope of work. Building a ‘built to last’ energy efficient home is a major undertaking, especially starting from scratch with vacant land. Not only must the shelter provide all the basic utilities and room for all activities, as any sustainable, self-sufficient house or cottage must, it must also be a safe - haven, designed and built (or renovated) with security in mind.
Don Simms Design Build has been building exceptional timber-frame, hybrid, and conventionally framed homes in Western Massachusetts and Southern Vermont. Often times a client has an idea which starts off with a small sketch. A sketch develops into a concept drawing for a new home, a restoration of a period home or a renovation of an existing house. With a number of experienced project managers and support staff we operate as a design build firm in that we sub-contract and competitively bid all of the agreed upon specified work, in order to insure we are getting qualified sub-contractors for our clients at the best price.
Collaboration - Our strength includes the ability to bring order to chaos through practical design, and accurate scheduling with an emphasis on strong client collaboration. We communicate well at all levels and prioritize the proper building strategies in order to optimize our client’s objectives.
Over the years I have designed many new single family homes, additions and project-managed multiple construction projects located in Western MA and Vermont, varying in complexity from museum renovations, town hall expansions requiring the installation of elevators to conform to ADA requirements, new senior centers renovations and additions, and the renovations and expansion of area-wide churches.
I have 35 years of construction management and design experience and was implementing green building practices back in the early 1980s. In 2010 I received my MBA in Managing for Sustainability from Marlboro Graduate School. In 2014 I received a certificate from Vice President Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project leadership training. My previous experience included running Castle Hill Construction, a premier construction company which built high-end single-family homes on the lakes and ski slopes of Vermont. Previously I was the Director of Development at several Western MA affordable housing companies where we designed, managed and built affordable housing.
