Press Releases

Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders
Honored With National Association of Home Builders
National Custom Home Builder of the Year Award

Contact:
Dawn Ringel
Warner Communications
781-449-8456 o
617-285-0652 c
E-mail: dawn@warnerpr.com

CHATHAM, MA – February 8, 2011 – Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders’ Peter Polhemus has been named the 2010 National Custom Home Builder of the Year by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). This is the first time the award has been given to an individual who is both a Builder and an Architect leading an integrated architecture and construction firm, and is the first National Custom Home Builder of the Year Award by NAHB to a firm in New England. Peter Polhemus, President and CEO of Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders (PSDAB) recently accepted the award from the NAHB at the 2011 International Builder’s Show in Orlando, Florida.

“We are honored to be the first company in New England and also the first truly integrated architectural and building firm to receive this prestigious award,” Peter Polhemus, President and CEO of Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders, said. “We thank our extraordinary clients for giving us the opportunity to do great work. I am very proud of our team and its profound commitment to excellence in design, construction and client satisfaction.”

The NAHB National Custom Home Builder of the Year Award recognizes the skill, craftsmanship, and organization of a firm that year-after-year creates exceptional one-of-a-kind custom homes. The winner is honored for outstanding leadership and business practices within that firm and for leadership in the industry and community as a whole. NAHB, based in Washington, D.C., represents 160,000 members in the home building industry, including thousands of custom home builders. This much coveted award distinguishes PSDAB as the best in its industry, nation-wide.

One NAHB juror stated, “The quality, variety and uniqueness of the projects that Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders designs and builds and the service they provide to their clients made PSDAB stand out among the applicants. Peter has donated his time to the local home builders association and has contributed work in other charitable efforts to make things better in his community.”

In addition to leading PSDAB in its commitment to excellence, client service, and dedication to the home building craft, Polhemus has long-term involvement in serving the community, including at-cost renovations and additions to the Cape Cod Museum of Art and the Cape Repertory Theatre, considerable pro-bono work, industry and non-profit board memberships, and charitable fundraising.

About Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders (PSDAB) of Chatham, Massachusetts is a full-service architecture and construction firm that integrates timeless architectural design with skillfully crafted construction and well organized management. This single-source method brings a new level of sophistication to the fine home design and construction profession. The firm was established in 1996 and its leadership includes Architect and Builder Peter Polhemus, A.I.A., President and CEO; Architect John R. DaSilva, A.I.A., Design Principal; and Builder Aaron Polhemus, Chief Operating Officer. The firm primarily builds on Cape Cod and the Islands, and throughout New England and New York, for local, national and international clients. Today, PSDAB has a team of more than 30 architects, designers, construction supervisors, carpenters and field professionals.

For more information on Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders, please visit us at www.psdab.com.

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ABOUT NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 160,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. NAHB is affiliated with 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB's builder members will construct about 80 percent of the new housing units this year. For more visit: http://www.nahb.org/

Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders is recognized for traditional architecture in New England

Contact:
Kendra Wallin
Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders
101 Depot Road, Chatham MA 02633
508-945-4500 Ext. 23
E-mail: kwallin@psdab.com

Date: October 26, 2010

CHATHAM, MA – The New England Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America (ICA&CA) awarded Bulfinch Awards to three projects by Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders (PSD). PSD is an integrated architecture and construction firm based in Chatham and Osterville on Cape Cod.

The House on Champlain’s Bluff, a Chatham home designed in a half “butterfly plan,” was given the New Construction-Traditional award. The Moorings, a historic project located in the heart of downtown Chatham, won the Residential Restoration/Renovation award. The Pro Shop at the Wequassett Resort was given the Commercial award.

The Bulfinch Awards, named for America’s first native-born architect and the designer of the Massachusetts State House, recognize the best work of firms and individuals to preserve and advance traditional architecture in the New England region. The award winners will be recognized at an evening reception at the Massachusetts State House in Boston on Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 6:00pm. The reception is open to the public and tickets may be purchased online through www.classicist-ne.org, under Upcoming Events.

SCORE honors Polhemus Savery DaSilva as its 2010 Small Business of the Year

Contact:
Kendra Brackett
Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders
101 Depot Road, Chatham MA 02633
508-945-4500 Ext. 23
E-mail: kbrackett@psdab.com

Date: May 12, 2010

Success of Chatham-based architectural and building company reflects Cape Cod’s changing population and growth

CHATHAM - SCORE of Cape Cod is honoring Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders with its 2010 Small Business of the Year Award.

"This year's award recognizes Polhemus Savery DaSilva for its sustainable business model, its success and profitability and its respected reputation as a high-end builder and architectural company," explained SCORE’s Ed McDonald Jr.

The non-profit volunteer group of retired business executives is a partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration, and provides client companies across Cape Cod, the Islands and Plymouth County with advice and counseling services.

The Chatham-based building and architectural firm will receive the Small Business of the Year award May 20 at SCORE’s 17th annual awards breakfast that also recognizes more than a dozen other small businesses across the region with ‘Mousetrap Awards’ - all nominated by local chambers of commerce.

The breakfast at the Old Yarmouth Inn in Yarmouthport will feature Beth Curtin, commercial loan officer at Coastal Community Capital, who will speak about ways to obtain business financing in today’s challenging economy.

Polhemus Savery DaSilva was established in 1996 by architect Peter Polhemus as a full service design-build firm. Merging creative architectural design and beautifully crafted construction, he sought to bring a new level of sophistication to the design-build process. Architect John DaSilva, A.I.A. joined their firm in 1998 and became a principal in 2000. Builder Aaron Polhemus, who joined the firm in 2005, is the Chief Operating Officer.

Today, Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders has designed and built numerous residential, commercial, and institutional projects throughout Cape Cod and southeastern New England, receiving many national and regional awards from the American Institute of Architects, the Design Build Institute of America, and others.

The company, which serves clients across the Cape and coastal southern New England, employs more than 25 people including licensed architects, designers, construction supervisors, carpenters, and field personnel.

At its inception, the firm had four or five projects a year. It now manages as many as 20, ranging from small but special additions and renovations to large new homes and select commercial and institutional projects. At any one time the work is in various phases from site selection, to design and permitting, through construction and maintenance.

Peter Polhemus began his undergraduate education at Harvard and graduated from The Goddard College Design Build program and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Graduate School of Architecture and Planning. He has worked with architects such as Kyu Sung Woo, who designed the Seoul Olympic Village, and Ann Beha, who championed the preservation of our architectural heritage.

DaSilva leads the firm’s architectural work. After graduating from Princeton University, summa cum laude, and the Yale University School of Architecture, he worked for Cesar Pelli, whose firm has a global reach and has designed world-renowned buildings such as the Petronas Towers in Malaysia as well as academic buildings for some of the country’s greatest universities, and Venturi Scott Brown, whose writings and buildings have had significant influence on the architecture of the last 50 years.

Aaron Polhemus, a builder, is the firm's chief operating officer. A University of Vermont graduate, he spent several years working as a field supervisor before assuming his current position. As COO, he has added a modern, holistic management system to coordinate everything from design through completion of a project.

While Polhemus Savery DaSilva’s clientele come not just from Cape Cod but also from Boston, New York, San Francisco, London and Paris - the company’s durability is rooted very much in its respect for classic Cape Cod design and the natural environment.

Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders launches expanded website

Contact:
Kendra Brackett
Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders
101 Depot Road, Chatham MA 02633
508-945-4500 Ext. 23
E-mail: kbrackett@psdab.com

Date: February 1, 2010

CHATHAM, MA – Cape Cod-based Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders has redesigned its website to feature an expanded portfolio of distinctive new and remodeled homes, as well as its commercial and institutional projects.

Improved navigation helps visitors and clients locate and use valuable information and advice, from the planning stage through construction and landscaping. The site includes detailed project descriptions, updated firm information and a streamlined appearance that will accommodate a steady stream of new content throughout the year.

“This is an important piece of our continual commitment to past, prospective and future clients,” said Peter Polhemus, a founder and partner of the 14-year-old firm that offers clients a single source for a complete range of architectural, interior design and construction services – provided by more than 35 professionals including licensed architects, LEED- accredited specialists, designers, construction supervisors, cabinet makers and field personnel.

“As we begin 2010, our company will continue to build off of our strong foundation providing clients with great value without ever compromising custom quality,” said COO Aaron Polhemus. “Our new website allows us to share our work far more robustly with all our clients and visitors everywhere at any time.”

The site’s portfolios vividly underscore how Polhemus Savery DaSilva is inspired by the natural environment and rich architectural heritage of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, noted John DaSilva, who directs the firm’s architects. “This commitment – combined with unique professional, artistic and practical experience – is at the heart of our work,” he said.

Polhemus Savery DaSilva selected Boston-based CM Communications to redesign and develop its website, www.psdab.com. A full-service marketing agency, CM Communications provides consulting services to clients in a variety of industries. By integrating marketing efforts, including public relations, internet, direct mail and social media marketing, website development, advertising, graphic design, and special events, it delivers creative marketing strategies designed to successfully build brands, raise awareness among targeted consumer and business groups and deliver maximum results.

Architecture of the Cape Cod Summer: The Work of Polhemus Savery DaSilva

Contact:
Laurie Fitzpatrick
Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders
101 Depot Road, Chatham MA 02633
508-945-4500 Ext. 33
E-mail: lfitzpatrick@psdab.com

Date: May 9, 2008

New Classicists Series Published by Images Publishing
Introduction and text by Michael J. Crosbie
Forewords by Cesar Pelli and Robert Venturi
Essay by John R. DaSilva

Architecture of the Cape Cod Summer, a new monograph on the work of Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders, will be released in July 2008 by Images Publishing. The full-color, 264-page book features more than two dozen projects ranging from modest to elaborate, each one an individual creation tailored to its specific location and client. Several additional projects are depicted in a chronology of the firm's major work.

The book contains an introduction and text by Michael J. Crosbie, as well as forewords by renowned architects Cesar Pelli and Robert Venturi. An essay by John R. DaSilva, Design Partner of Polhemus Savery DaSilva, describes the firm's approach and revisits the genesis of the Shingle Style that is so influential in residential architecture today.

Architecture of the Cape Cod Summer presents more than ten years of design and construction that is at once fresh, yet rooted in Cape Cod tradition. In an architectural world increasingly polarized between strict revivalist classicism and avant-garde abstraction, the work of Polhemus Savery DaSilva displays a compelling third way.

In the words of Robert A. M. Stern, Dean of the Yale School of Architecture, "The work of Polhemus Savery DaSilva beautifully melds the traditions of New England with the way we live today, affirming that an architecture of place trumps an architecture preoccupied with passing trends."

Architect Michael Graves said "The world of Polhemus Savery DaSilva is so enormously refreshing, as this work takes the best of the Cape's context together with the architect's own personal approach and melds them into a body of uncompromising domestic architecture."

Drawings by the firm and over four hundred color photographs by leading architectural photographers illustrate this sixth volume in IMAGES' New Classicist series. Architecture of the Cape Cod Summer, the Work of Polhemus Savery DaSilva, will be available in bookstores summer 2008.

Polhemus Savery DaSilva House Wins Boston Globe Magazine's 2006 Home Of The Year

Contact:
Laurie Fitzpatrick
Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders
101 Depot Road, Chatham MA 02633
508-945-4500 Ext. 33
E-mail: lfitzpatrick@psdab.com

Date: December 4, 2006

Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders’ "House at Popponesset" was named the grand prize winner of the Boston Globe Magazine’s 2006 Home of the Year Contest in yesterday’s Globe magazine. The house was chosen out of 600 reader entries to receive the top honor. This Cape Cod seaside retreat, designed to be as "playful and relaxed as a day at the beach," was completed earlier this fall. Polhemus Savery DaSilva, of Chatham and Osterville, were the architects and builders of the house; Classic Kitchens and Interiors of Hyannis were the kitchen and interior designers.

Link to the Boston Globe Magazine cover story online at: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/.

Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders Celebrates 10th Anniversary at Wequasset Inn Resort & Golf Club

Contact:
Laurie Fitzpatrick
Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders
101 Depot Road, Chatham MA 02633
508-945-4500 Ext. 33
E-mail: lfitzpatrick@psdab.com

Date: September 8, 2006

CHATHAM - Over two hundred people gathered this week to celebrate the tenth anniversary of local design-build firm, Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders at the newly redesigned outdoor pool complex of the Wequasset Inn Resort and Golf Club. Polhemus Savery DaSilva, in conjunction with Hawk Design, landscape architects of Boston, designed and built the elaborate new addition to the resort, complete with fire-pit and a cedar-and-mahogany bar pavilion handcrafted by the firm’s custom woodworking shop, Signature Woodworks. In attendance were clients, community members, and staff.

Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders began in 1996 as Polhemus and Savery, named after its founders, President and architect, Peter Polhemus and Vice President, contractor Len Savery. In 2000, John DaSilva became Design Principal, and now oversees all aspects of the firm’s architectural direction. Since its founding, Polhemus Savery DaSilva has designed, built, and renovated many homes and commercial projects throughout the region, including extensive additions and renovations to the Cape Cod Museum of Art and the Wequasset Inn pool complex. The firm has offices in Chatham and Osterville and has grown to employ over forty people.

Polhemus Savery DaSilva Strengthens Design-Build Business Through Peer Networking

Contact: Greg O’Brien, Stony Brook Group (508.360.5888)
Date: April 18, 2006

CHATHAM, MA - Peter Polhemus, president of Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders, has joined the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) 20 Club program in an effort to build better homes, improve business practices, and increase client satisfaction. As a member of this program, Polhemus meets regularly with other builders from around the country for an open exchange of information and advice. Polhemus is a member of the Producers Club that most recently met in San Diego from March 22 - 24.

NAHB’s 20 Club program is a networking and education opportunity available to NAHB members. Groups of up to twenty builders from similar, non-competing businesses meet regularly to discuss the latest trends and techniques in design, production, and management. "This was an invaluable three-day exchange of ideas, best business practices, and quality control. I look forward to the next meeting," says Polhemus. The clubs meet several times a year, enabling Polhemus to continue to develop his business with the information garnered from these builder networking meetings.

For more information about NAHB’s 20 Club program, please contact Assistant Staff Vice President Cheryl Caulfield at 800..., or visit www.nahb.org/20clubs.

Polhemus Savery DaSilva, Architects Builders Helps Cape MFA Complete Latest Leg of 20-Year Voyage

Contact: Fran Schofield, Stony Brook Group (508.896.0059)
Date: April 29, 2002

When Chatham-based architect Peter Polhemus was asked by a trustee of the Cape Museum of Fine Arts in Dennis, Mass. to help select floor tiles in 1996, little did he know his firm would soon be playing a pivotal role in planning, designing and constructing major renovations and additions for the 20-year- old arts institution. Today, Polhemus points with pride to the transformation and expansion of the museum facility which his firm helped steward. The recent additions and renovations "help transform the entire complex into an intentional composition, rather than the random assemblage of small, house-like buildings that existed," says Polhemus.

The museum’s $1.5 million capital improvements program, begun in 1996 and completed this winter, includes the renovation and addition of gallery, retail, administrative, library and other public spaces totaling more than 12,500 square feet. Central to the project is the renovation of the museum’s main "Hope-McClennen Gallery." Unheated and unfinished, the space was "a virtual shell at the time we came on board," says the Harvard- and MIT-trained Polhemus. Now the redesigned and reconstructed gallery-"a bright white space whose handsome wooden truss roof resembles the hull of a boat," according to New York Times arts writer Grace Glueck- is home to permanent collections and traveling exhibits reflecting the best work of Cape artists as well as those of international renown.

The CMFA has experienced several transformative events in its brief, twenty-year history. The original idea for the museum was spawned by conversations between friends in 1980 who, noting the preponderance of Cape arts associations, bemoaned its dearth of permanent space to conserve and exhibit the work of the region’s many local and visiting artists. Since that time, the museum has grown exponentially-comprising today a 12,500-square-foot complex showcasing works by internationally, nationally and regionally renowned artists including Robert Motherwell, Alexander Calder, George Grosz and Edwin Dickinson.

In its earliest days, the museum occupied space in a Dennis storefront. Later, in 1987, the fledgling CMFA took a second, major step toward maturity by leasing land within a sprawling compound that includes the Cape Playhouse, Cape Cinema and Cape Playhouse Restaurant on Rt. 6A. Donated by a Harwichport art collector’s family, a group of buildings was subsequently relocated to the site and renovation work begun. In 1990, the museum’s new doors opened at its present site.

Throughout the 90’s, however, it became increasingly clear to museum curators and trustees that the CMFA’s physical plant was inadequate. The museum needed more and better space to house and display its growing art collection, including more than 1,000 objects illustrating the role Cape Cod has held in American art since the 1800’s. The donated buildings, while much valued, were functionally, physically, and aesthetically deficient, and their house-like qualities no longer reflective of the museum’s growing regional civic and artistic importance. Museum deputy director Lou Ann Harrington concurs, saying "our beautiful new facility is so much better equipped to accommodate new and expanded programs, functions and exhibitions and, ultimately, to realize our mission as an art museum."

According to project architect John DaSilva, a major challenge for Polhemus Savery DaSilva was to define and assert the museum’s maturing identity within one of the most architecturally rich and eclectic historic districts on the Cape. "We believed the new building should allude to the cultural conditions of the place and establish continuity with the past, yet have a fresh and unique architectural expression," he says. To accomplish this, the firm "drew from, yet reinterpreted through contemporary eyes, the Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Arts & Crafts and other eclectic building styles of the district," continues the Princeton- and Yale-educated DaSilva.

Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects-Builders was founded in 1996 by architect Peter Polhemus and builder Len Savery. John DaSilva, A.I.A. joined the firm in 1998 and was promoted to design partner in 2000. The firm employs more than twenty architects, designers, construction professionals, and field crew, and has completed numerous residential, commercial and institutional projects throughout the region. Polhemus Savery DaSilva is noted for thoughtful, creative design and well-crafted construction.

Chatham Design-Build Firm Announces Appointment of New Partner, Renaming of Firm

Date: February 28, 2002
Contact: Peter Polhemus, Polhemus Savery DaSilva (508.945.4500) or Fran Schofield, Stony Brook Group (508.896.0059)
With art: photograph-John DaSilva, A.I.A.
Background Info: Cape Cod Home & Garden Article, Spring 1999

Peter Polhemus and Leonard Savery, co-founders of the Chatham design-build firm Polhemus & Savery, Architects-Builders, announced today the promotion of John DaSilva, A.I.A. to design principal, and the renaming of the firm Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders. "John brings talent, vision and practical experience to our company, and his presence is helping us grow professionally and artistically," says company president Polhemus.

Founded in 1996 by architect Polhemus and builder Leonard Savery, Polhemus Savery DaSilva includes more than twenty professionals offering a complete range of architecture, interior design and construction services.

The firm has designed and built numerous residential, commercial and institutional projects throughout the region. Most notably, the firm served as project architect and builder for the recently completed additions and renovations to the Cape Museum of Fine Arts (Dennis, Mass.), a New York Times "Star Museum."

The firm draws inspiration from the natural environment and rich architectural heritage of Cape Cod and the Islands. "As architects and builders, we try to reinterpret this heritage in ways that are fresh, yet respectful. We embrace the challenges imposed by site characteristics, context and regulatory constraints," Polhemus says.

Polhemus Savery DaSilva is an integrated design-build organization. Construction principal Len Savery explains, "we’ve found that when design and construction services are provided by one professional entity, it results in better working relationships and greater efficiencies for the client, than typical design-bid-build methods."

As design partner, DaSilva is responsible for directing the firm’s design staff and setting aesthetic direction for commercial, institutional, and residential projects. DaSilva joined the company in 1998. Previously, DaSilva was employed by such distinguished architectural firms as Cesar Pelli and Associates and Venturi, Rauch and Scott Brown, where he served in project design and construction administration capacities.

DaSilva studied architecture as an undergraduate at Princeton University and at Yale University School of Architecture, where he received a Master of Architecture.

Cape Museum of Fine Arts Celebrates Its 20th Year and Newly Expanded Museum

Contact: Greg O’Brien, Stony Brook Group (508.360.5888)
Date: July 5, 2001

Celebrating the launch of its 20th year and newly expanded museum, the Cape Museum of Fine Arts is holding a gala reception and art exhibition on Friday, July 6, 2001 at the Cape Museum of Fine Arts, Route 6A in Dennis. Festivities take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and feature the Twelfth National Exhibition of the American Society of Marine Artists as well as several surprise celebrity guests; a private reception for special patrons begins at 4:30 p.m. The new galleries will be open to the public on Saturday, July 7 and a ribbon cutting ceremony commemorating the newly expanded facilities will take place at noon.

Designed and constructed by the firm Polhemus & Savery, Architects-Builders, LLC of Chatham, the museum’s $1.5 million capital improvements program has included renovation and addition of gallery, retail, administrative, library and other public spaces totalling approximately 8,500 square feet. The project’s first phase, completed in 1998, involved the renovation of the Hope-McClennen Gallery and creation of two new galleries-the Hart-Signore Sculpture Gallery and Ocean Edge Gallery. Says Peter Polhemus, president of Polhemus & Savery, "this project has represented much more than reconfiguring and enlarging the museum’s physical space; it has involved redefining and expressing the maturing character and stature of the Cape Museum-consistent with its growing civic and artistic importance, and respectful of its historic architectural context."

Phase Two of the museum’s improvement program comprises the addition of approximately 4,000 square feet of new, and 2,500 square feet of renovated interior space-primarily new galleries. The new galleries spaces-named the Fleet and Robert Douglas Hunter Gallery for major donor FleetBoston and revered Cape artist Robert Douglas Hunter and Polhemus Savery DaSilva, Architects-Builders Gallery-will showcase the museum’s permanent collection and temporary exhibitions including work of Cape Cod and regional artists as well as related travelling exhibits. Project architect and firm principal John DaSilva, describes a design approach key to the success of these spaces for art display. "Fundamental to the design of the Fleet and Robert Douglas Hunter Gallery is a complex ceiling that incorporates natural and artificial lighting systems, as well as mechanical systems, leaving wall space clear for its intended purpose-the display of art," he says.

Polhemus & Savery, Architects-Builders was founded in 1996 by architect Peter Polhemus and builder Len Savery. John DaSilva, A.I.A., who joined the firm in 1998, was promoted to design partner in 2000. The firm, which employs more than twenty architects, designers, construction personnel, and administrative staff, has completed numerous residential, commercial and institutional projects throughout the Cape Cod region. Polhemus & Savery is noted for its thoughtful, creative design and well-crafted construction.