About the firm · Boston + Salem
Design Build Architects is an architecture practice shaped by the knowledge of how buildings are actually made.
Together with our construction company, Design Build Boston Construction, we connect design thinking, technical rigor, estimating, and field execution from the beginning. The companies remain distinct professional entities, but the teams work toward one shared outcome: a better building and a clearer experience for the client.
Architecture that can be built.Construction that protects the design.
/ Our foundation
The conventional way
The architect completes the drawings. Pricing and field knowledge arrive later. When budget, sequencing, or constructability conflicts appear, good ideas become late compromises—and the client is left coordinating the space between two contracts.
Our integrated way
Design and construction inform one another continuously. We test cost, sequencing, performance, and constructability while the work is still being designed, keeping the vision and the realities of building in the same conversation.
/ The master builder
arkhitéktōn
The word architect traces to the ancient Greek arkhitéktōn: chief or master builder. Design and construction were once understood as parts of the same responsibility.
Our mission is to bring that standard back—not by blurring professional roles, but by asking more of both. Architects should understand how their ideas are made. Builders should understand the design intent they are entrusted to carry forward. We hold both disciplines, and ourselves, to that higher standard.
/ What guides us
Every line anticipates material, labor, energy, maintenance, and the life that will unfold around it.
Clear conversations about scope, budget, risk, and priorities create stronger projects and better relationships.
Our responsibility does not end at the drawing set. We remain engaged through permitting, procurement, construction, and closeout.
Durability, comfort, energy performance, and adaptability matter as much as the day-one photograph.
/ DBAi Command Center
Inspired by Arick Dyrdal’s Coast Guard service and shaped by his experience as a carpenter, architect, general contractor, and business owner, DBAi is our purpose-built command center for running a more connected and accountable practice.
Each department—XO, OPS, SUPPO, COMPT, and INTEL—has a defined mission. Together, they help our team organize information, preserve decisions, anticipate risks, coordinate work, and maintain accountability across architecture and construction.
We use technology deliberately and ethically: to improve accuracy, strengthen oversight, and give our people back more time to do what they do best—designing thoughtful buildings, solving real problems, and building well.
DBAi allows a small practice to operate with unusual clarity and capability while keeping professional judgment, creativity, and client relationships where they belong: with people.
01Communication, scheduling, decisions, and follow-through.
02Project delivery, field coordination, and operating standards.
03Selections, sourcing, procurement, and cost intelligence.
04Project controls, commitments, performance, and accountability.
05Research, opportunity, outreach, and strategic visibility.
Technology organizes the signal. Our team makes the call.
/ Founder + principal
Architect. General contractor. Carpenter. Coast Guard veteran.
Arick began in the building trades before earning his Bachelor of Architecture from the Boston Architectural College. That path—from making, to drawing, to leading both sides of delivery—formed the central idea of the practice: architecture becomes stronger when its author understands the work of construction.
His service in the United States Coast Guard reinforced the standards that continue to shape his leadership: preparation, precision, calm decision-making, and accountability to the team and the mission. At DBA, those values translate into disciplined design, candid communication, and a determination to carry each project through well.
His experience spans architectural design, field coordination, estimating, construction oversight, multifamily development, renovations, and high-performance building. Today, he leads Design Build Architects and Design Build Boston Construction as an integrated team serving Greater Boston and the North Shore.
MA Unrestricted CSL
Home Improvement Contractor
Phius Certified Builder
Phius Certified Consultant
United States Coast Guard Veteran
AIA · NCARB
/ Credentials + certifications
Professional credentials across architecture, construction, building performance, and supplier diversity reinforce the integrated expertise behind every project.
Arick J. DyrdalHigh-performance construction · CPHB
Arick J. DyrdalPassive-building design + analysis · CPHC®
Design Build Boston Construction, LLCMinority Business Enterprise · MBEPhius professional certification logos identify the credentialed individual, not the firm. Massachusetts SDO certifications are current through October 12, 2026.
/ The team
Our studio links design, documentation, operations, and construction leadership around the same set of project goals.
Executive Admin + Operations Coordinator
Laura keeps the practice connected. She coordinates client and consultant communication, calendars, proposals, project follow-through, and the systems that help the design and construction teams move as one. Responsive, trusted, and highly self-directed, she is often the person making sure the next step actually happens.
Job Capitan
Oscar earned his professional architecture degree and practiced as an architect in Colombia before bringing that design and construction experience to Boston. As Job Capitan, he connects drawings to field conditions and coordinates documentation, permitting, consultants, budgets, and construction realities. He is actively completing the NCARB requirements toward architectural licensure in the United States.
Designer
Cami brings architectural design together with experience in construction oversight and technical coordination. Educated in architecture and construction administration in Colombia, she develops clear presentations and detailed drawing sets, and leads the selections process so clients can understand their choices and feel more in control of how design decisions affect the project budget.
Project Manager
David brings more than five decades of building experience, centered on architect-designed custom residences—from finely detailed renovations to homes exceeding 15,000 square feet. Projects he has built have appeared in New England Home, This Old House, Builder/Architect, and The Boston Globe Magazine. An artist and avid watercolorist who has also designed work of his own, David manages construction with an uncommon sensitivity to proportion, material, detail, and design intent.
Site Supervisor
Manny leads day-to-day activity in the field, coordinating crews, site conditions, material flow, and the details that keep construction moving safely and efficiently. As a direct link between the project team and the work on site, he helps translate the drawings and project standards into a well-organized build.
/ Who we are
Design Build Architects provides licensed architectural services. Design Build Boston Construction provides construction and general contracting services. Maintaining those professional roles gives each discipline the rigor it requires; operating as one team gives clients the coordination they deserve.
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