Design & Build Services

Architecture, permits and construction in one chain of accountability.

What We Do

The most expensive gap in construction is the one between the architect and the builder. Drawings priced after they are finished come back over budget; redesign burns months; responsibility scatters across three contracts. Design build in Toronto exists to close that gap: our architectural studio and construction team work under one roof and one agreement, so every drawing is priced as it develops and every design decision is made with its cost attached.

You see the house before we build it — developed 3D renderings, material boards, and a live budget that moves with the design rather than after it. By the time drawings go to permit, the number on the contract is the number we have been carrying for months, not an estimate awaiting correction by reality.

When the people who draw the house also build it, the budget and the design stop arguing.

The process runs in five movements. Concept design translates your brief and lot into massing and plan options. Design development locks geometry, structure, and material logic, with our structural engineers working inside the same model. Working drawings — the permit and construction set — are priced by the trades who will execute them at sixty and ninety percent completion. Then permits, then construction, with the designers who drew the house walking it weekly. Architectural design and construction under one contract means no detail is ever someone else’s problem.

Permit strategy is a discipline we treat as seriously as structure. A building permit in Toronto for Part 9 residential work carries a ten-business-day statutory review target, but real timelines depend on complete, coordinated submissions — ours routinely clear without deficiency letters. Where a design exceeds zoning permissions, minor variances go through the Committee of Adjustment, a three-to-five-month process we manage including planning rationale, neighbour consultation, and hearing representation. In Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, and Oakville we adapt each set to local submission standards and development engineering requirements.

Design and build in the GTA outperforms the traditional sequence on the two axes clients feel: schedule and certainty. Industry studies put design-build delivery roughly a third faster than design-bid-build, because pricing, permitting, and procurement overlap instead of queueing. Long-lead items — windows, steel, appliances — are ordered while permits are in review. And because the designer and builder share one balance sheet, value engineering happens in the drawing, not as a compromise on site.

The model suits complex projects best: infill custom homes on tight urban lots, major additions requiring variances, whole-home transformations where structure, envelope, and interiors must be conceived together. It also rescues stalled ones — we regularly audit drawing sets and half-finished permits from other firms, re-coordinate them, and carry the project to completion under our own accountability.

What's Included

Architectural design
3D rendering
Interior design
Structural engineering
Building permit application
Committee of Adjustment
Zoning compliance
Construction management
Quality control
Project scheduling
Budget management
Final inspection & handover

Selected Work

Design-build modern home in South Richvale, Richmond Hill — cantilevered second storey with charcoal brick and white oak soffits

Custom home construction project on The Bridle Path, Toronto — modern stone estate with interlocking courtyard driveway at dusk

Full home renovation in Rosedale, Toronto — bespoke kitchen with marble waterfall island and rift-oak cabinetry

Luxury basement renovation in Kleinburg, Vaughan — tiered home theater with walnut acoustic panels and starlit ceiling

Custom lakeside home in Old Oakville — limestone facade with slate roof and copper accents at golden hour

Design & Build Services, Answered.

One firm, one contract, one accountability for architectural design and construction. Drawings are priced by the trades who will build them as the design develops — not tendered after the fact — so budget surprises surface on paper, where they are cheap. Delivery typically runs a third faster than the traditional design-bid-build sequence.

The statutory review target for Part 9 residential permits is ten business days, but the real timeline is set by submission quality — coordinated architectural, structural, and energy documents. Our sets routinely clear in four to eight weeks without deficiency letters. Vaughan, Markham, and Richmond Hill run comparable timelines through their own building departments.

Typically 4–7 percent of the anticipated construction budget, covering concept design, 3D renderings, working drawings, structural engineering, and permit documentation. For clients who proceed to construction with us, a defined portion is credited against the build contract. You own the drawings either way — the fee buys documents, not a commitment.

Yes — in full. Developed 3D renderings of exterior massing and principal interiors, physical material boards, and a live budget that moves with every design decision. Nothing goes to permit until you have approved the house visually and financially. Clients change their minds on screen, where revisions cost days instead of months.

Whenever the design exceeds zoning permissions — building height, lot coverage, setbacks, or floor space index. Minor variance applications in Toronto, Vaughan, and Markham take roughly three to five months including the public hearing. We prepare the planning rationale, manage neighbour consultation, and attend the hearing; our approval rate reflects designing close to the bylaw first.

Yes — it is a regular assignment. We audit the existing drawings, permits, and site work, produce a re-coordinated construction set, and restate the budget honestly before committing to a schedule. Some projects need weeks of correction, others need re-engineering; either way you get a written assessment before any contract is signed.