Way, way back in 1980, two ambitious young architects hopped off their drafting stools at WM Design Group and formed their own firm.  

 

Tom Samyn and Ward D’Elia set up shop in a lightly-renovated, old post and beam sugar house on a single-lane dirt road in Holderness, NH. It sounds like a pioneer story and actually, that’s just what it was. Tom and Ward shared a desk, their suppers, and Tom’s high school manual typewriter. “We’d work till eight or so, eat dinner and then work until midnight," D’Elia remembers (though that may be an uphill-both-ways-to-school kind of story). The fledgling firm’s first commission was for an underground house, their second for the home of a friend who is still a client today. Their knowledge of early sustainable design snagged them their first commercial project, condos in Watervillle Valley, NH.  D’Elia says, “We knew we were taking off when we were arguing about whether or not to purchase an electric typewriter.” For the record, Tom was for the purchase, Ward was against it. They bought that typewriter and never looked back. SDA eventually outgrew the sugar house and Tom and Ward each got their own desks in a renovated gristmill which housed the offices of SDA for almost 40 years. In 2018, they began renovation work on a grand old summer inn just down the road in Holderness, NH, and set up shop in their new studio in the fall of 2019.

 

Architects

Portraits by Maundy Mitchell and Ridgelight Studios

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Ward D'Elia, AIA – Principal Architect
Rhode Island School of Design

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Cris Salomon, AIA – Principal Architect
Norwich University


Mark Hall
Architectural Designer

Kristin Razza-Crowley
Office Manager

Timothy Tamulonis
Summer Intern 2020

OPEN POSITIONS

project architect

We currently have an opportunity for an outstanding project architect to join our eight-person team working on a wide variety of commercial, municipal, educational, and residential projects. Our firm is located in the heart of New Hampshire’s Lakes and Mountains region in a newly-renovated building (circa 1895) that was once the Holderness Inn. We are fortunate to have our spacious office located within the lush, beautifully-maintained gardens of the local science center and just across the street from Little Squam Lake. NH’s White Mountains, ski resorts and myriad of hiking trails are just a short drive away. Since 1980, we have counted ourselves lucky to be hiking, skiing, running, boating, and playing right where we live and work. We’ve also had the privilege to work with outstanding clients designing award-winning and landmark projects throughout the state including Hampton Beach State Park facilities, NH Welcome Centers in I-93, renovations and expansions for the base lodges at Bretton Woods and Waterville Valley resorts, renovations to the historic Mountain View Grand Hotel, North Church in Portsmouth, NH, and Dover’s First Congregational church, dormitories and faculty residences at Holderness School, New Hampton School, and Brewster Academy, and many distinctive, environmentally-friendly homes.

Our team members enjoy competitive salaries, paid holidays, vacation time, sick days, 401K, performance level bonuses, and profit sharing.

Now you know about us. See how you match with our needs below and we look forward to hearing from you!

qualifications:

• Currently have or are pursuing an architectural degree.

• 5–8 years experience working on a variety of architectural projects, including residential, educational, commercial, and municipal.

• Experience in project management, including programming and schematic design, with a strong background in the preparation of construction documents, construction administration, and site visits.

• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects utilizing excellent organization and communication skills.

• Desire and ability to communicate with and focus on the client.

• Familiarity with current building codes and zoning regulations.

• Experience with wood frame construction.

• Proficient in Revit.

• Knowledge of CAD and Sketchup.

• Skill with Adobe Illustrator, In Design, and Photoshop.

• Experience in preparing materials for presentation, including graphics, boards, and PowerPoint presentations.


SUMMER INTERN

SDA hires (and pays) an intern each summer to assist with architectural and office tasks. We like to hire a student enrolled in college pursuing a degree in engineering or architecture, but we’re flexible on that. Some of our most interesting interns have come to us from outside the field. One ended up owning his own T-shirt design company in NYC and is now writing software to help structural engineers design buildings more efficiently. Another is designing snowboards for Burton, and yet another is SDA Principal Architect, Cris Salomon! 

This is what our intern did last summer:

• Measured buildings and created as-built drawing.

• Painted offices.

• Drafted using CAD – He had the basics down when he arrived, so he did a lot of this.

• Constructed architectural models.

• Sat in on staff and client meetings.

• Went to job site meetings with Project Architects.

 

Just like our intern last summer, you need to be: hard-working, polite, friendly, a quick study, punctual, and responsible.

We look forward to hearing from you!


Apply