Benjamin J. Somrak grew up in the Gunnison Valley and is a 5th generation native of Crested Butte, a town his family helped found in the 1860s. He is a graduate of Western State College, 30 miles down the road from his home in Crested Butte. During his years as a collegiate student, Ben worked closely with design and build firm Norton Designworks where he developed a passion for the trade and met Matt Wellner, SCS lead carpenter and foreman. Ben has ten years of building experience to offer clients, as well as a keen understanding of both the design and build phase of projects in cold weather climates. Working as a designer, Ben knows that the actual "blood, sweat and tears" building experience is what truly creates a solid set of plans that are efficient to make a reality and set SCS apart from other design firms. Ben also has many other hobbies besides designing and building efficient homes: skiing, music, and basketball- but most of all, wakeboarding and boating with his awesome friends during the beautiful summer weekends on Blue Mesa Reservoir south of Crested Butte. Ben was once voted back-to-back winner as "Best Skier" for "Best in the Butte", a poll by the people of the Gunnison Valley. He is also a Firefighter for the Crested Butte Fire Protection District, serving his community with pride, and earned the coveted 2007 "District Person of the Year" award. As a president and vice president of two different boards of directors, Ben has demonstrated a vast amount of professionalism at a young age of 27. Don't be deceived by this young age; Ben and his highly capable team are ready to power your concept into structure. Ben knows that earning your trust on your single biggest investment is a treasure all in itself.

 

Mike Arbaney is the founder and principal engineer of Colorado Structural, Inc. He grew up in the Aspen Valley and has always been fascinated with the building process. He began his professional experience working in the construction industry building large custom homes in and around Aspen. Mike has had over 8 years of construction experience working with concrete, steel, and wood composite structures. He then went on to receive a BS degree in Civil engineering with an emphasis on structural and geotechnical engineering from CSU. Mike has over 8 years of engineering experience, including large custom homes, affordable housing, residential remodels, commercial buildings, multi-unit residential buildings, bridges, and hotel and restaurant renovations in Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. Mike's hands-on experience as a builder provides him the skills and understanding of the construction process necessary to provide clients with a superior set of engineering plans ready for our team to make a reality.

 

Matt Wellner was born and raised in Minnesota and moved to Crested Butte in 2000. He has been working as a carpenter in the Gunnison Valley since then, and founded Wellner Construction in 2004. Ben and Matt worked together as carpenters for three years at Crested Butte-based Norton Designworks where Ben enjoyed Matt's hard and honest work ethic and is excited to have him as a part of the SCS team. When you see the custom touches and utmost perfection in the homes we build, you can bet that Matt was behind it. When not building fine custom homes, Matt can be found rock climbing, backpacking, boarding the steeps of Crested Butte, or traveling the world. Matt enjoys the challenges of building new custom homes with less impact on our plant and applying new 'green' techniques to his projects.