AN INTRODUCTION TO STEVE DALY – NEDC DESIGN DIRECTOR
At New England Design & Construction we are a vibrant team of 25 or so architects, interior designers and project managers with a passion for sustainable design and a deep appreciation for the legacy of the Architect as a Master Builder.
We aim to provide our clients with an experience that is utterly different from anything else currently available in this industry of home design and remodeling.
I am passionate about and deeply proud of each member of our team. I have built NEDC over 20 years after graduating from Tufts Architectural and it is truly an honor to work with, lead, be helped by and learn from each.
I am extremely excited to have Steve as part of our team at the helm of our Design Department! He is the perfect fit with a rare background in both hands-on craft training in the trades as well as formal design training. Highly competent, creative and extremely down-to-earth Steve has a cheerful, can-do energy which is infectious! Always ready with a grin, he is extremely easy to get along with—possibly it’s that Irish charm…
Early life & Interests
Steve lived his early childhood in Ireland and immigrated to South Shore Massachusetts in the late ‘80’s. From an early age creating and curiosity were a constant for Steve–when not following his carpenter father around he was always exploring the outdoors and getting involved with sports in some form.
Carpentry and general labor were an everyday part of growing up and he was taught many skills related to home building and construction during a several-year apprenticeship upon which his core foundation of craft was built. The desire to explore was strong and being outside quickly turned into all-day excursions in the woods on a mountain bike. He still participates in local MTB races in the Boston/South shore area and travels to VT and NH for gnarlier terrain. Mountain biking requires clear focus and quick decision making while engaging with your surroundings very directly, a thrill that is hard to replicate but speaks to the attention Steve brings to what he does. As he grew older a love of music developed during the US grunge and UK big beat scenes of the 90’s and there spawned a mutual love of rock and electronic music backed up with a large CD and vinyl collection and a short stint as an eclectic DJ. There is music playing all the time and for every occasion in Steve’s world.
While music and mountain biking were to be lifelong hobbies, it was clear going through high school that Steve’s trajectory was going to be toward the home design and construction industry. It was off to Boston MA in 2000 for a bachelor or Architecture program at Wentworth Institute of Technology. There, Steve’s thoughts around design formally developed, finding that Wentworth’s heavy technical focus fit it with the carpentry skills he developed at home. He was quick to understand that there was lots of knowledge to be gleaned from the amazing staff and experiences that were to be had there.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO DESIGN?
While Steve’s time in college was quite impactful, most memorable was a study abroad semester based in Berlin, Germany where he was able to experience firsthand some of the world’s most amazing buildings with trips to Scandinavia, Italy, and the Czech Republic.
Seeing works by Carlo Scarpa, Renzo Piano, Alvar Aalto, Juha Leiviska, Zaha Hadid, Tadao Ando, Aldo van Eyck, and countless classic masters will forever leave a design impression. Wandering the birch forests of Finland to see Aalto’s Villa Mairea or spending the day lost in the mesmerizing Woodland Cemetery have had visceral impacts on the way Steve envisions spaces and how they can be shaped and lived in.
Prior to college he always had a knack for doodling and imaginative thinking. Paper bag book covers and 3 ring binders were covered front to back with doodles, band logos, Celtic knotwork, and 173 versions of a personal emblem, still in the works he says. Legos and K’nex were in constant use and he was the first one to start building the sand fort and canals at the beach. Throughout his schooling geometry, math, and physics were a curiosity and strong point and still resonate as forces for design today.
These days you might catch Steve geeking out over a well-designed mechanical pencil or the performance metrics for a home renovation project. While vastly different, both bring equal amounts of excitement as he welcomes the exploration, his moto “Use your curiosity to understand” may be more of mantra these days but he always encourages getting out and exploring, there so much to be experienced.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT THIS PROFESSION AND CRAFT? WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU?
Steve believes that Design, and almost more so, Design/Build has this profound ability to impact the quality of someone’s life greatly. This above all drives him to succeed in his career–ultimately it is people who occupy and hopefully thrive in spaces that he creates. Design/build exemplifies the need for knowledge and craft, whether physical or mental, and it is in that crossroads that a project is made real, a wild and beautiful place.
Steve wants people to feel and experience where they live, creating impact, calm, and comfort, these are the places where people feel most themselves and can then find inspiration.
WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AT NEDC?
A career focused around Architecture and Building has led Steve to champion the Design/Build process and naturally found kinship in the work and process at NEDC as their Design Director. He oversees a bustling office of designers and crafts people, with a client-forward design/build ethos, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. There he ensures that clients’ needs are met, that projects are developed with care and thought, and that the design team can produce in a collaborative and inspiring design/build environment where both designers and trades people can benefit from working together and sharing acquired knowledge.
WHAT DO YOU DRAW INSPIRATION FROM?
Steve said this list could go on for ages, but he rattled off some hot topics for us…
Nature, organic forms, and the environment.
The human experience and the insane abilities of people, as well as his family with two younger children. Watching them experience life so innocently is a constant reminder of the joy and amazement that surrounds us.
Physics, science, space, art and expression, music, sports, and general displays of awesomeness.
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Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, Mayan and Pagan structures, Japanese traditional building, modernism, mid-century modern, treehouses, follies/sculpture.
Architectural tectonics, building science, natural materials, sustainability, trade craft.
Travel is the best way to see how the world may do things differently, in his travels Steve is constantly observing social, cultural, and architectural aspects of places, sketching and taking photographs to help record and better understand.
Our world is profoundly advanced, and we live in a remarkable time where Steve is constantly in awe of what is possible and ready to push what is to come.
NEDC – THIS IS WHO WE ARE
Download our 2024 Cost Guide here!
This is a cost guide we have put together to assist Boston homeowners and luxury real estate consultants in their planning and decision making. We pride ourselves on straight talk when it comes to costing and this guide lays out projected costs for each home space based on real projects over the past 20 years. It also covers costing connected to whole-home gut remodels across Boston. We hope it helps!
WHAT’S INSIDE THE GUIDE:
• 18 pages with individual project images and final costs
• Cost information on remodeling kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and more
• 2 luxury whole home renovation projects with cost breakdowns for each
• Cost summary sheet for a quick look
• Contact information if you want to move forward
NEW ENGLAND DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION CONTACT INFORMATION:
DAVID MUNIZ SUPPLE – FOUNDER/CEO
TRISTAN DEWITT – BRAND DIRECTOR
CESAR DASILVA – CONCEPTUAL DESIGN DIRECTOR