Our NYC Renovation Process

The stages below describe our approach to a full architectural renovation. Your proposal defines the services, deliverables, and construction-phase involvement for your project. Our Services page explains what is included and what is billed separately. Some activities overlap as the design, pricing, and review process develops.

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1. Understand Your Home and Priorities

We begin with what you want to change and why. We discuss your daily routines, proposed scope, budget range, timing, and how you want to feel when you are using the space.

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We review available plans, measurements, photographs, and known concerns to understand the home's existing layout and conditions. We identify where further documentation, investigation, or specialist input is needed before committing to a design.

 

For apartments, we review relevant alteration requirements, including restrictions that may affect plumbing, flooring, shared systems, and construction access. For townhouses, early questions may involve the structure, exterior, building systems, zoning, or landmark considerations, depending on the proposed work.

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To prepare for design, we put five things in place:

• A property survey. Where the project calls for it, we advise you to commission a survey from a licensed surveyor, so we work from accurate measurements of the existing building and its neighbors.

• A budget with contingency. Setting it early lets it inform design decisions at every later stage.

• A design brief. This written document guides the scope of the design. If something isn't in the brief, it may not get designed, so we finalize the brief before design begins. Changes after design starts may involve additional fees.

• A client survey. A set of questions about your needs, habits, plans, any special equipment, and how you want your home to feel.

• A preliminary schedule. It identifies the key decision points, so progress is easier to track and everyone stays aligned.

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What this gives you: A written design brief, a survey, a budget with contingency, and a schedule of the decisions ahead.

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2. Develop the Design

We explore layout and the architectural approach, clarifying what stays, what changes, and which improvements belong in the current scope. We present two to three design schemes, in person, by phone, or by video. You choose one, often combined with ideas from the others, and we refine it. Where appropriate, we discuss what could be deferred and how that would affect the overall design.

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We consider structural systems, make preliminary material selections, and bring in engineers early on more complex projects. At this stage you receive preliminary demolition plans, floor plans and elevations, and a preliminary cost estimate with a budget review. You approve the schematic design before we move on.

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Once the direction is set, we develop it in detail. We meet with you several times as materials, finishes, fittings, and lighting are selected room by room and construction details are completed. Depending on your scope, the design may include kitchen and bathroom planning, custom millwork, and coordinated material selections. We update the cost estimate and revisit scope and budget assumptions as the design becomes more specific, using contractor or cost-consultant input where appropriate.

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Healthy-home priorities, including ventilation, moisture, daylight, acoustic comfort, and material choices, inform these conversations from the beginning.

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What this gives you: An agreed design direction that connects your priorities with the realities of your home.

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3. Prepare Drawings and Coordinate Reviews

This is the busiest stage for us, and the one where you have the least to do. The design decisions are made. We prepare the drawings and specifications needed for a building permit, and we finalize them with your engineers so structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and acoustic details are included.

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The drawings become part of the contract set used for pricing, together with two documents that carry much of the detail:

• Schedules. A spreadsheet of the selections made in your project: doors, windows, interior finishes, lighting, plumbing fixtures, appliances, and hardware.

• Specifications. The written instructions that go with the drawings. The drawings show what the building looks like and how it fits together. The specifications describe the materials, products, installation methods, and workmanship required to build it.

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Co-op or condo board review. If your home is in a co-op or condominium, the board will most likely review the project, and each building has its own process. We help complete the application, submit the plans and elevations, answer the board's questions, and attend two board meetings, which are included in your proposal. Additional meetings are billed separately.

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City and agency filings. When approval from local authorities is required, we prepare the documents and reports, and the expeditor prepares and lodges the applications at the end of design development. Questions and comments from reviewers may require clarification or revisions.

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The documentation and submission sequence depend on the project. Review periods are set by the organizations involved and can affect the overall schedule.

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What this gives you: Coordinated information for the applicable reviews, contractor pricing, and construction.

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4. Evaluate Pricing and Prepare for Construction

While the drawings are completed, we contact potential contractors to check their availability and interest. We like to have three to four lined up. If you have a contractor you trust, we welcome including them. Every contractor prices the project from the same coordinated documents, so the proposals can be compared fairly. 

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Bidders have two to four weeks to prepare. During that time they visit your property, reach out to their subcontractors and suppliers, and ask us clarifying questions, which we answer for all bidders.

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When the bid period ends, we review each proposal for compliance, cost, and time, and we identify differences in scope, allowances, exclusions, and open questions. You receive a bid comparison report and our recommendation, and you choose the contractor you are most comfortable working with.

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If pricing prompts changes, we discuss the tradeoffs with you and coordinate agreed revisions.

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Before work begins, you, the selected contractor, and we go through any last questions and agree on a start date before the contract is signed. We also discuss access, material lead times, and how the work may affect occupancy and daily routines, with the contractor developing the construction logistics. You select and contract with your contractor.

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Two ways to choose 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 and give you a 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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What this gives you: A clearer basis for choosing a contractor and understanding what is included before construction starts.

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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, so the whole team stays on the same page.

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We review and certify the contractor's payment applications to confirm construction progress, and we evaluate proposed change orders with you. No set of drawings can anticipate every detail, so when concealed conditions or changes arise, we help evaluate the design implications, discuss decisions that need your attention, and issue supplemental sketches or drawings to keep the work aligned with the design.

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Architects and contractors see a project from different perspectives, and both matter to a good result. Our role is to protect the integrity of the design. The contractor manages the construction work, site operations, and schedule, and we do not direct their methods or day-to-day operations.

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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. Required inspections, sign-offs, and close-out documents, including applicable warranty and maintenance information from contractors and suppliers, are handled by the responsible project participants.

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What this gives you: Continued architectural input as the design is built, and a clear path to a finished home.