Residential architecture services for NYC homes
From first sketch to final walkthrough, Tong Dong Architects designs, files and oversees your renovation, with light, air and moisture planned from the start.
Budgets typically start around $350,000. The first call is free. Based in Queens, serving all five boroughs.
Choose your starting point
Apartments, co-ops and condos
Make better use of your space while coordinating design with building rules, board approval and construction constraints.
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Townhouses
Reconsider the whole home, from layout and daylight to building systems, including landmarked buildings and their approvals.
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Wellness-focused renovations
Indoor air, moisture, daylight, acoustics and materials planned from the beginning, while the decisions are still easy to change.
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Healthy Home Review
An independent architect's review of a home you're buying or plans you already have. Reviews start at $1,250.
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For developers
Wellness and performance planning for multifamily teams.
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Custom homes:
For clients with a site and a long-term vision, we take on a small number of custom homes by inquiry.
Five stages carry a renovation from idea to move-in. Your proposal defines the exact services for your project.
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1. Understand your home and priorities. We review your goals, budget range, plans and existing conditions, and identify what needs more investigation before design begins.
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2. Develop the design. We explore layout options, you choose a direction, and we refine it into a design that connects your priorities with what your building can accommodate.
3. Prepare drawings and coordinate reviews. We produce the drawings and specifications, coordinate your engineers, and prepare your co-op, condo, DOB or Landmarks submission. We attend two board meetings.
4. Evaluate pricing and prepare for construction. We meet three to four contractors, answer their questions, and give you a side-by-side comparison with our recommendation. You choose and contract with your builder.
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Choosing your contractor.
Competitive bidding. We issue a complete bid set to three to four pre-selected contractors. They have two to four weeks to visit the property, ask questions and submit prices. We compare the bids for compliance, cost and time, and give you a comparison report with our recommendation. This suits projects where cost control and a clear side-by-side comparison matter most.
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Negotiated contract (time and material, or cost plus). Your contractor joins during design, advises on construction and helps refine pricing as the drawings develop, then is awarded the project once the documents are complete. This suits complex or custom private projects where early input and flexibility add more value than a competitive price.
We support both. If you already have a contractor, tell us at the start: a referral is welcome with either approach.
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5. Support construction and close-out. When construction administration is included in your agreement, we hold a weekly site meeting with your contractor and their subcontractors to answer questions and review progress against the contract documents. After each meeting, we send a written progress report to everyone involved. We review and certify the contractor's payment applications to confirm construction progress, and we evaluate proposed change orders with you. When clarifications or changes arise, we issue supplemental sketches or drawings to keep the work aligned with the design. At substantial completion, we generate a punch list and oversee its completion. After the punch list is complete, we authorize the final payment to the contractor. The contractor manages the construction work, site operations and schedule.
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Consultants you may need.
Most projects involve a few specialists, and we coordinate them for you: a surveyor, an asbestos testing agency, an expeditor, structural and mechanical engineers, and special inspections.
Larger or more complex projects may also need a landscape designer, civil engineer, lighting designer or energy consultant. Their fees are billed separately from ours.
What's included, and what's billed separately
Included in your proposal | Billed separately |
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Design brief and two to three design directions | Engineers and other consultants (structural, mechanical, surveyor, expeditor, special inspections) |
Drawings and specifications for permit and pricing | Asbestos testing and filing fees |
Co-op or condo board submission and two board meetings | Board meetings beyond the two included, and other meetings beyond your proposal |
Contractor comparison report and recommendation | Changes to the design brief after design begins |
Weekly site visits and a punch-list review |
* Hearings, such as community board or Landmarks, are defined in your proposal.
Designed for how you live
The most important upgrades are often the ones you can't see:
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Air. Ventilation designed for your home, including kitchen and bathroom exhaust and fresh air you can control, so rooms stay comfortable year-round.
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Water. Whole-home filtration, accessible plumbing panels, and waterproofing in kitchens and bathrooms to prevent leaks and moisture problems before they start.
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Envelope. Windows, insulation and air sealing designed with your heating and cooling, so the home holds a steady temperature and stays quiet.
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Light. Daylight brought to the rooms you use most, with circadian lighting and shading that manage glare and privacy.
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Healthy materials. Durable, low-emission finishes chosen for known composition and long life, because a home built to last decades is also the most sustainable one.
Most of these decisions are locked in before framing, when they cost the least to change.
Explore wellness-focused renovations ·
Read the Healthy Home Guide
Investment
Budgets typically start around $350,000, and design fees start at $35,000. The first call is free.
Before any work begins, a written proposal defines scope, deliverables, fees and next steps.
Not ready for full service?
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Buying or planning? The Healthy Home Review gives you written priorities before a major commitment.
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Just exploring? Start with the free Renovation Starter Kit or the Healthy Home Assessment.
Led by
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Queenie Tong, RA, NCARB, registered in New York State
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21+ years in architecture, 18 of them residential
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Founded 2021, fully insured
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Landmarked townhouses and co-op apartments completed in Manhattan and Queens
Questions
When should I contact an architect?
While you're still considering the project, before scope and major construction decisions are fixed.
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Do you handle co-op and condo board approval?
Yes. We prepare the submission and attend two board meetings. Link: More in our FAQ (/nyc-renovation-faq).
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Can I use my own contractor?
Yes. We welcome your referral into the bidding, and you contract with your builder directly.
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How are fees determined?
By property, complexity, scope and involvement. Design fees start at $35,000, and we define fees in writing before work begins.
Do you work outside New York City?
Our focus is the five boroughs. We consider select projects by referral.
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How long does each stage take?
You have timings in hand: bidding is two to four weeks, a full apartment gut renovation runs about six to nine months of construction, and your landmarked townhouse took about a year of permitting and a year to 14 months of construction.