In a city where most projects are renovations, and often only interior, the architect often plays somewhat of the role of an interior designer. The way I put it is:  we help you find and figure out everything that ends up attached to your space: paint colors, lighting fixtures, appliances, bathroom fixtures and fittings, tile, stone etc. If you’re interested in more than generic furniture layouts, we can also bring in an interior designer or work with yours.

The typical steps for a residential project are as follows:

1. Contract: After an initial meeting, site visit and discussion of scope and budget, I will send you a letter agreement, describing the above and my fee schedule. Once we decide to work together, these are the typical phases.

2. Prep: We measure the existing conditions, then draw them up in the computer. In the meantime, we encourage you to put together an inspiration document with things that speak to you--they do not have to be architectural--for whatever reason. No worries if that’s not your thing! If you live in a co-op, you should request the “Alteration Agreement” from the management company. This is a document that describes the process by which the coop will approve work, and what is and is not allowed (for example, many co-ops will not allow “wet over dry,” which is expanding a kitchen or bathroom above someone else’s non-kitchen/bath living spaces for fear of leaks).

3. Schematic Design: This is where the fun begins! We get to work coming up with several layouts for your space(s). These are in plan (overhead) view only and serve to talk about your needs and some of the “big moves”: experimenting with different approaches, adjacencies and flows.

4. Once completed, we meet with you for what we call the “fishing expedition” meeting: we throw a whole lot of ideas at you and see what you respond to. This is not a meeting to see which of the layouts you “want to buy” but rather a way for me to see your reactions, which aspects speak to you and which are clear nos. After this, we mix things up and come up with more or new versions that might depart quite a bit from what we came up with before. This process might take a few go-arounds, or it might not, but, with our guidance, you will figure out your priorities and scope of work.

5. Coop/DoB Filing: After the layout has been decided, we start putting together the building department package or, if applicable, your coop package. If you live in a coop, this phase can be quite protracted, depending on whether they are reviewed by a building architect, and how responsive the management agency is. We work with you on all the submittals.

6. Design Development & Bidding: At this point, we run the project on parallel tracks: while we wait for plan approval, we flesh out the spaces in terms of elevations, finishes, built-ins, etc. and we dive deeper into style. We refine budgeting decisions and put together a drawings set complete enough for contractors to bid on. We do walk-throughs with several contractors. While they work on the estimates, we put together a budgeting spreadsheet for the items Provided By Owner (PBO). That way, when you get the bids back, you’ll have a fairly complete picture of the estimated Construction Cost. Once all the information is submitted, we help you evaluate the submitted bids

7. Construction Documents: After the bids are in, you might decide to change the scope of the work. We then do whatever drawings (details etc.) that are needed for the GC to be able to get to work. By the time the project is approved by the city and/or co-op, ideally everything is wrapped up. We also help you at this point to make decisions about finishes like tiles, countertops etc. You might want us to do all the legwork and just show you a few samples, or you might be someone who enjoys going to the various stores and looking around--we will work with you in whatever capacity you need us.

8. Contract Administration: During construction, we visit the site in appropriate intervals to answer questions the GC might have or to help you make any decisions if any surprises reveal themselves. In renovations, there is often a need to adjust a few things here and there, and we work closely with the GC and you to make the best decisions, taking budget and aesthetics into account.

9. Sign-off: The GC’s contract gets closed once the items on a mutually agreed-upon punch-list are completed. At the same time, there are a few loose ends that need to be done at the Building Department (and maybe the co-op): plumbing and electrical needs to be signed off, a few more forms handed it, potentially a final survey commissioned, after which the job can be signed off. You’ll received either a Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) or a Letter of Completion to mark the official closing of your job. This is very important if you later want to refinance or sell, and one of the things that most often gets left out. We help you through that final phase, so you get to enjoy your new space to the fullest.

We most commonly charge our fee as a percentage of the construction cost (=value of your contract with the GC + Change Orders + Owner Provided Items). The percentage varies by location, scope, and complexity, but usually is between 17-20%.

Here are some additional fees you can expect. Most but not all of these will apply to any project, but the amounts depend on scale and they will be payable to third parties, not LENZLINGER ARCHITECTS.

DoB filing fee: $250-$4,000 depending on scope

Expediter: ±$4,000 for Alteration Type 2*; ±$7,000 + for Alteration Type 1*; ±$350 per amendment; $300 for pulling permit

Asbestos Inspection: ±$800-2,000 depending on scope

Construction Inspections: ±$ 500 per inspection, 1 - 12 per job, depending on scope.

Plot Survey: For additions, decks, and new buildings only; $600 for a simple survey, more if we need heights etc.

Co-op fees: varies greatly, but can be several thousand, especially if there is a building architect to review the drawings.

Contingencies: Depending on project scope and complexity (and especially in renovations), it is also generally advised to have a 10-20% contingency budget for unforeseen circumstances (rotten beams found inside ceilings etc). Over the years, we have found that the vast majority of change orders (money-wise) stem from the clients voluntarily expanding the scope (e.g. adding a bath renovation they didn’t think they wanted to include), rather than from site conditions.

*see next question

One major distinction among projects in New York City is Alteration Types: Alteration Type 1 (or Alt 1) means that the project will require a change of CofO (Certificate of Occupancy), a document which lists how many apartments (or other occupancies) are in your building and which floors they are on. If you change that configuration, it is an Alt 1 filing, which tends to cost more and requires final inspection by the city. Smaller projects, where the number of units in a building remains the same are called Alterations Type 2 (Alt 2).

There are architects who do what is called “professional self-certification.” This means that the plans will not get reviewed by the city (i.e. they will not go through “plan examination”). Instead, the architect certifies that everything in the plans is code compliant. This can save time, but it also poises a bigger risk if the job gets audited later by the DoB.

In contrast, Directive 14 is the most common way to file an Alt 2 filing: The drawings go through regular plan review and approval process, but it is the architect who does the final inspection before sign-off and certifies that the job was built out according to the DoB-approved plans.
Alt 1 filings will always have a final CofO inspection performed by the Building Department.