For homeowners in the Hudson Valley, building or renovating a house can feel like a relay race run blindfolded: architects hand plans to builders, builders hand questions back to architects, and when something goes sideways, accountability gets murky fast. CB Design / Build was created to remove that friction by keeping the entire process—design through construction—under one roof.
Based in Columbia County, CB Design / Build is a fully integrated design-build firm with in-house designers, project managers, and a staff of full-time carpenters. “There are a lot of definitions of design-build out there,” says president Jock Winch. “But we’re the true version. We design it here, and we build it here—with our own people.”
That distinction matters most when it comes to cost, scheduling, and accountability. Because CB Design / Build both draws the plans and executes the work, the team has an understanding of what things actually cost to build—especially important in a region dominated by older housing stock. “When we’re designing a project, we’re not guessing,” says vice president Andrew Personette. “We’re drawing from real experience building these kinds of homes, often from the 18th and 19th centuries. That allows us to give clients a higher level of certainty early on.”
The firm recently strengthened its design bench with the addition of Chris Billingham, AIA, as Design Director. Billingham has been shaping custom homes across the Hudson Valley since 2000, specializing in additions, renovations, and new builds that honor historic architecture while embracing modern living.
Just as important as design, clients have a single point of contact throughout the life of a project. There’s no finger-pointing between architect and builder if a challenge arises. “If something’s a design problem, it’s our problem. If it’s a build problem, it’s our problem,” Winch says. “That takes a lot of stress out of an already complicated and expensive process.”
Sustainability is the second pillar of CB Design / Build’s work, and it’s baked into projects at every scale. The firm designs and builds high-performance, energy-efficient homes, including Passive House projects, and brings that same thinking to renovations of historic structures. One notable example is Basilica Hudson, where CB Design / Build helped transform the former industrial site into a net-zero campus through deep energy retrofits, insulation upgrades, and custom window installations—balancing preservation with performance.
That same approach is shaping a proposed residential project in Columbia County, where CB Design / Build is designing a small, conservation-minded community of modest, high-quality Passive House homes nestled into a wooded landscape. The goal, Personette says, is to create housing that respects the land, reduces environmental impact, and remains attainable.
The third pillar is place. Winch is a fourth-generation builder in Columbia County, and the company’s ties to the region run deep. Most of CB Design / Build’s 19 employees are local, as are the majority of its subcontractors. Winch serves on the board of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce and on the advisory panel for Columbia-Greene Community College’s construction program, helping train the next generation of builders.
In a field where complexity is unavoidable, CB Design / Build’s model is simple: Do the work in-house, do it responsibly, and do it with long-term commitment to both clients and community.
CB Design / Build
41 Bender Boulevard, Ghent
(518) 755-0329; Cbdesignbuild.us
This article appears in March 2026.
