Tier Options
Build
Structural reconfiguration, full system replacement, and complete spatial reconception. The studio leads design and coordinates the licensed team throughout.
Investment Range: Starting at 20% of the property value
Project Duration: 12 - 36 months
Scope: Comprehensive home transformation with structural modifications
Perfect for:
- Properties requiring total transformation with space configuration
- Homes needing comprehensive structural improvements and updates
- Investment properties requiring complete market repositioning
Remodeling
Major structural reconfiguration: combining units, full system replacement, complete spatial reimagining. Licensed professional coordination throughout.
Full structural modification, unit combination where applicable, complete electrical and plumbing system replacement, HVAC design where the building permits, DOB permit coordination, and architect of record managed by the studio. Custom millwork in every room is standard. LPC coordination in landmarked buildings is within scope.
Investment
Board approval in co-op buildings adds 6–12 weeks to the pre-construction phase. Board approval is not the project risk — it is the design phase that determines whether board approval goes smoothly.
In Detail
A Renovation in a Manhattan co-op requires a full alteration agreement submission. We manage the entire process: preparing the documentation package, coordinating contractor insurance certificates, timing the submission relative to the board's monthly meeting schedule, and responding to any board conditions. In pre-war buildings on Park Avenue and the Upper West Side, this process runs 8–14 weeks. In post-war co-ops and condominiums, typically 4–8 weeks. Missing the board's monthly meeting by one day means waiting another month — we plan around the board calendar from the start.
What's Included
Overview: Structural reconfiguration at the room level: moving walls, gutting and repositioning kitchens and bathrooms, expanding primary suites, integrating a comprehensive smart home — all within a single unit's footprint. Board approval management is part of the service.
Scope Details:
- When projects require architectural drawings, structural engineering, permit procurement, or Building Department liaison, we collaborate with New York State licensed architects, engineers, and registered professionals. We coordinate this process on the client's behalf as part of the service.
- Pre-renovation audit: structural, mechanical, and administrative assessment before design begins
- Structural reconfiguration: non-load-bearing wall removal and addition
- Kitchen and bathroom repositioning within unit footprint
- Primary suite expansion and reconfiguration
- Complete MEP replacement: electrical, plumbing, HVAC (where permitted)
- Smart home infrastructure specified and installed before walls close
- Full millwork program: kitchen, bathrooms, storage, library, home office
- Complete material specification throughout
- Board approval management: documentation, alteration agreement, managing agent, board meeting preparation
- Full construction oversight: contractor management, weekly site visits, all trade coordination
- Completion certificate management
The Process
Process Methodology
- Pre-Renovation Audit: Every Home Renovation begins with a pre-renovation audit conducted before any design work begins. We assess structural conditions, existing MEP systems, board requirements, and building-specific constraints. This audit is the most important investment in the project — it is significantly cheaper to discover a constraint before design than to redesign around it after.
- Board Management: We manage the board approval process as part of the service. This includes preparation of all board submission documentation, the alteration agreement, the managing agent relationship, and — when required — preparation for and attendance at the board meeting. The design is prepared with board approval in mind from the first schematic drawing.
- Smart Home Timing: Smart home infrastructure is specified before walls close — this is the only time it can be done cost-effectively. Rough-in conduit, outlet placement, and network infrastructure are construction decisions, not finish decisions.
- Trade Coordination: We coordinate all trades throughout the construction phase: architect of record (where required), general contractor, electrician, plumber, tile installer, cabinetmaker, AV contractor, painter. The coordination is the service — not just the design.
Process by Subservice
Build
Remodeling
Structural feasibility assessment for any combination or load-bearing work. Building rule review specific to combination projects. Board consultation (informal, before formal submission). Budget framework established.
Floor plan options developed with structural engineer from the start. MEP coordination mapped. Combination plan developed if applicable.
Complete construction documents including architectural, structural, MEP, and interior design. Smart home infrastructure fully specified.
Board submission for combination and alteration. DOB permits filed. LPC coordination if applicable. We manage this process in full.
Full construction management with weekly site coordination across all trades. Structural, MEP, and systems work sequenced and managed.
Smart home programming and commissioning. Systems testing. Completion certificate process. Punch list. Client training and handover.
Ideal For
The Client
A client who has purchased or owns a unit where the existing layout does not match how they live. Common scenarios: pre-war co-op with a closed kitchen that needs to be opened, primary suite that needs to be expanded, bathroom locations that need to be repositioned. The renovation changes how the space works, not just how it looks.
Active Neighborhoods: Lenox Hill/Park Avenue, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Tribeca, West Village, Financial District, SoHo
Not A Fit If
If the project involves combining multiple apartment units, complete structural alteration, or full HVAC/mechanical replacement as a primary objective, this is Home Remodeling.
Tier Evolution
Home Renovation clients who want to combine units, fully replace all building systems, or undertake more extensive structural work move into Home Remodeling.
Building Requirements
Applicable Architecture
Pre-war co-ops: board approval is the primary process constraint. HVAC restrictions must be designed around, not through. Glass towers and condominiums: more permissive process, modern infrastructure. Townhouses: structural complexity is higher — floor-by-floor programming determines project feasibility.