Its design was inspired by the latest trends in modern architecture, especially the Lever House in New York City, with glass curtain walls and a combination of vertical and horizontal volumes.

The building received attention nationally as well as locally and helped catalyze the modern architecture movement in New Mexico.

Their design drew particular inspiration from the Lever House in New York City, especially the glass curtain walls and the way the tower seemed to float above its horizontal base.

[7] While embracing a futuristic design, the architects also chose to keep a link to the past by reusing sandstone blocks from the Commercial Club in some of the ground-floor exterior walls.

[17] Sandia Savings made a number of changes to the building, enclosing the open-air promenade on the 13th floor for more office space, expanding the ground-level retail area, and adding a multilevel parking garage.

[17] A more thorough, $7 million renovation was completed in 2014, including upgrades to the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems while maintaining the building's historic character.

The ground floor covers most of the block and includes a small courtyard on the north side; most of the exterior walls are aluminum-framed glass but some portions use the recycled sandstone from the Commercial Club.

[15] It projects over the ground floor to form covered arcades at the east and west ends, with three columns on each side exposed as pilotis.

It was ultimately replaced with conventional heating and cooling systems, somewhat ironically just as the original design was attracting renewed attention due to the 1970s energy crisis.

[11] The Simms Building appeared frequently in the popular AMC series Breaking Bad, where it portrayed the DEA office of character Agent Hank Schrader.