SDG Associates

SDG Associates
Sims Design Group Associates LLC
Formation1964; 62 years ago (1964)
FounderHoward Sims
TypeLimited liability company
Headquarters607 Shelby, Suite 704,
Detroit, Michigan, United States
ServicesArchitectural design, engineering, project management
Key people
Howard Sims (1964–2016),
Harold Varner (1973–2013)
Websitesdg-assoc.com
Formerly called
Howard Sims & Associates (1964–1975),
Sims–Varner (1976–?)

Sims Design Group Associates LLC, often simplified as SDG Associates, is an American architectural firm, headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.. It is the city of Detroit’s oldest and largest Black-owned architecture firm. It was founded as Howard Sims & Associates, and later changed to Sims–Varner.

History

Cobo Center (now Huntington Place) in Detroit, Michigan

It was founded in 1964 in Ann Arbor by architect Howard Sims under the name Howard Sims & Associates. In 1968 the office was moved to Detroit. In 1969, the firm incorporated and Sims was given the role of president. Architect Harold Varner joined the firm in 1973. By 1976, the firm name was changed to Sims–Varner to reflect a new Varner partnership, and Varner as the executive vice president. At the beginning of the firm they struggled to find high quality clients due to racial boundaries limiting them to certain types of work. These included residential buildings and churches like Second Baptist Church that created the base for the firms pedigree. Off of this the firm began to build their cliental leading to more noteworthy projects that shaped the city of Detroit like the design of Cobo Center in 1981.

It now operates as SDG Associates. As of 2019, Wesley Sims (son of Howard Sims) is the CFO and COO of SDG Associates.

List of work by SDG Associates

Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Piper, Matthew (July 15, 2019). "The legacy of black architects in Detroit". Curbed Detroit. Archived from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Sims-Varner and Associates". Docomomo US. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 "Architect finds there's still life after basketball". Detroit Free Press. February 15, 1982. p. 1C. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "A designer's designer Architect Howard Sims helped create blue print for post-rebellion Detroit". The Michigan Chronicle. April 4, 2016. Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  5. ↑ Mitchell, Melvin L. (2020). African American architects : embracing culture and building urban communities. USA: Katherine Williams.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  6. ↑ "Notable buildings in Detroit designed by black architects, mapped". Curbed Detroit. Archived from the original on March 12, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Second Baptist Church". SAH ARCHIPEDIA. July 17, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  8. ↑ Mondry, Aaron (July 16, 2019). "Notable buildings in Detroit designed by black architects, mapped". Curbed Detroit. Archived from the original on March 12, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  9. ↑ Weddell, Dorothy (August 27, 1974). "Elmwood III Apartments Going Up After 20 Years". Detroit Free Press. p. 3. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. 1 2 Jesse, David (April 1, 2016). "Trailblazing architect Howard Sims dies at 82". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  11. 1 2 3 Hill, Eric J.; Gallagher, John (2003). AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. pp. 18, 160, 242. ISBN 978-0-8143-3120-0.
  12. 1 2 Benedetti, Marti (April 4, 2016). "Noted Detroit architect Howard Sims dies at 82". Crain's Detroit Business.
  13. ↑ "Stroh Brewery Sims-Varner". Jet. Earl G. Graves Ltd. March 1987. p. 73.
  14. ↑ "Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History". SAH ARCHIPEDIA. July 17, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2024.