David Duong
CEO of HWA Construction
David Duong
FAME: Can you tell us about your role at HWA Construction and the type of projects you typically work on?
DD: As CEO of HWA Construction, my role is centered on shaping the company’s long-term vision and building the leadership team responsible for executing it at the highest level.
Our goal is to set the standard for high-performance design and construction through disciplined execution, thoughtful collaboration, and a true white-glove client experience from concept to completion. Achieving that level of consistency requires more than one person, it demands putting the right people in the right leadership roles to carry the company vision through every phase of a project.
With an in-house design team and a systematized approach that brings commercial construction practices into the residential space, we're aiming to disrupt the industry. We build everything from renovations to full ground-up custom homes. And because design and construction are integrated under one roof, we close the gap between the vision and what actually gets built.
FAME: What do you think makes a construction process feel smooth and successful from a client’s point of view?
DD: What makes a construction process feel smooth from a client's point of view actually comes down to three simple questions: What am I getting? How much will it cost? And how long will it take? In my experience, almost every point of friction in a construction project, every frustrated call, every "what happened to the timeline," every dispute over scope, traces back to one of those three questions not having a clear answer.
That's the problem we built HWA to solve. We brought practices from commercial construction into the residential space. This includes things like OAC (owner-architect-contractor) meetings, formal RFIs, and internal custom made software. The commercial industry has always been better at giving clients clarity. Residential construction hasn't caught up which is the gap we are aiming to close
The phase that matters most, though, is pre-construction. This is where our design-build approach really pays off.
When we resolve the design details, elevations, and finish selections thoroughly before construction starts, everything downstream gets easier: the schedule holds, the budget holds, and materials show up when they're supposed to instead of causing delays mid-project.
So if I had to sum it up, a smooth construction process isn't really about avoiding problems. It's about a client never having to wonder what they're getting, what it costs, or when it'll be done.
“Clients get to skip the part of construction that usually causes the most anxiety: not knowing.”
FAME: Where do you typically see disconnects happen in projects, and how do you try to address them early on?
DD: Once construction begins, one of the most common disconnects happens between the architectural, structural, and interior design plans. Even with a strong design team, details can sometimes be interpreted differently in the field if coordination isn’t fully resolved upfront. Those gaps can lead to delays, revisions, or unnecessary costs during construction.
To address that early on, again I’m going to highlight the pre-construction coordination and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Before the project begins, our team meets for a blueprint walkthrough where we carefully review drawings, elevations, finish details, and buildability before construction starts to identify potential conflicts ahead of time.
“Taking the time to clarify those details early is critical to maintaining both the project timeline and the overall quality of execution.”
FAME: What are some things clients often don’t anticipate about the building process until they’re in it?
DD: One thing clients often don’t anticipate is how much trust they’ll need to place in the team they’ve assembled.
Construction has a lot of moving parts, and if that trust isn’t established early, clients can unintentionally slow their project by feeling like they need to oversee every decision themselves. That’s why the due diligence you do before hiring your team is so important.
On our end, we’ve continued to strengthen communication throughout the construction process so clients and stakeholders have clear visibility into key decisions, upcoming work through two-week lookaheads, and outstanding action items. Our weekly OAC (Owner-Architect-Contractor) meetings create a consistent forum to review those items, resolve issues, and keep everyone aligned.
We believe in “trust, but verify.” One thing I’d recommend asking any builder before hiring them is what you can expect at project startup and what they’ll deliver on a daily, weekly, monthly, and closeout basis. Those expectations should be clearly defined from the beginning.
FAME: HWA has been involved in rebuilding efforts after recent wildfires—what has that experience revealed about the challenges of rebuilding today?
DD: Rebuilding after the recent fires can feel like a full-time job. Construction is only one part of it. Homeowners are also navigating insurance, documentation, permitting, design decisions, and a process many have never experienced before. Our goal is to alleviate as much of that burden off their plate as possible.
As we’ve supported homeowners through the rebuilding process, we’ve become familiar with the information and documentation insurance adjusters request. That experience allows us to anticipate those needs, prepare the appropriate construction documentation, and work alongside the homeowner and their adjuster to keep the process moving.
In the immediate aftermath of the fires, we introduced a Fire Relief Rate to help reduce construction costs and support our community through the rebuilding process.
“Rebuilding is already an incredibly difficult experience. Our role as a trusted builder is to provide clarity, remove hurdles, and ease the burden on homeowners.”
FAME: When approaching rebuild or recovery projects, how do you think about balancing urgency with long-term quality and resilience? How can a project be built faster?
DD: The fastest way to build isn’t always to start construction sooner. It’s to make more decisions before construction begins.
That’s why we encourage potential clients to bring us into the design process early. Traditionally, plans may be fully developed before a contractor is brought in to price and build them. What a lot of clients find when they go the traditional route is often time you’re designing with a dream in mind instead of a dream tied to a budget. By involving the builder in preconstruction, we can evaluate cost and constructability alongside the design, identify opportunities to value engineer, and resolve coordination issues between the architect, designer, engineers, and other consultants before they reach the field.
The goal is to enter construction with a coordinated design, a stress-tested budget, and with the least amount of unknowns as possible. You can’t eliminate variables like weather, inspections, or unforeseen site conditions, but there are plenty of variables that are controllable if choices are made early.
Especially with a rebuild, there’s an understandable urgency to break ground. But starting sooner doesn’t always mean finishing sooner. Good preconstruction is what allows you to move quickly without sacrificing quality.
FAME: What role do you think builders play beyond construction, especially in guiding clients through complex or high-stress projects?
DD: That starts with setting clear expectations and putting them in writing. When a project inevitably hits a difficult moment, clients should have something concrete to reference rather than feeling like the entire project has gone off course.
At HWA, every project is assigned a Project Manager and Superintendent, with oversight from our Construction Director and additional support from Assistant Project Managers and Superintendents.
Clients shouldn’t have to chase down answers. They should know who is responsible, who to turn to, and what happens next.
“A good builder isn’t just responsible for what gets built. They’re responsible for creating order around the process of building it.”
FAME: Looking ahead, what changes do you see shaping the future of construction, and how is your team thinking about that?
DD: The future of residential construction will look a lot more like commercial construction. That means having thorough plan sets and fully fleshed-out design drawings, strong project organization, and a high standard for how projects are documented and managed.
Residential construction has historically been informal in most of these areas, but as homes become more complex and construction costs increase, that approach becomes harder to justify. Building that infrastructure requires a greater investment upfront from both the builder and the client. But when a project can last anywhere from three months to more than two years, that investment can save significant time, money, and stress over the course of construction.
“Ultimately, homeowners shouldn’t just evaluate a builder by the quality of the finished product, but by the systems, team, and project management behind how they get there.”