QD Design is a HUB-certified architecture and engineering (A/E) design firm based in Cypress, Texas, serving Houston, Austin, Dallas–Fort Worth, and San Antonio, with completed projects in Florida and Minnesota. We produce the complete permit set — architectural drawings plus sealed mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineering — under one contract, led by a Texas-licensed Professional Engineer. No coordinating between separate firms. No finger-pointing when plan review comes back.
Send us your floor plan and you’ll have a fee proposal within one business day.
Why Owners and Contractors Choose QD Design
- One firm, whole permit set. Architecture, mechanical, electrical, plumbing — plus civil and structural coordination — from a single design team. On our 17,000 SF medical clinic campus in Houston, all six disciplines ran under one contract.
- Fast-track speed. On a 25,250 SF industrial renovation in Houston, schematic design was approved 7 days after signing and the full design was permitted on a 3–4 week schedule.
- Jurisdiction fluency. We answer plan-review comments for a living: City of Houston DSD, Austin, Sugar Land, Pearland, Tomball, League City, Euless, Harris and Fort Bend Counties, TDLR/TAS accessibility. A Sugar Land school kitchen with three parallel reviewing agencies went from first submittal to permit in about 30 days.
- 200+ completed projects. Restaurants, medical and dental clinics, retail, daycare and schools, churches, warehouses, senior living, and pharmaceutical cleanrooms.
- HUB / minority-owned certified. Your project may qualify for diversity participation credit.
What We Design
- Restaurants & commercial kitchens — Type I hoods, grease systems, NFPA 96 (KPot Dallas, Oumi Sushi Austin, Golden Chick Humble, Bellaire food hall)
- Medical, dental & veterinary — clinics, med-spas, imaging, animal hospitals
- Retail & franchise buildouts — AutoZone Austin, fitness studios, salons, c-stores
- Industrial & warehouse — shell buildings, TIs, food production, cleanrooms
- Schools & childcare — daycares, Montessori, academy expansions
- Churches & community buildings — sanctuaries, gyms, additions
- Spas, salons & fitness studios — Hand & Stone Pearland, F45/FS8 Katy, lash-studio prototypes
- Senior & assisted living — Tyler TX and Royal Palm Beach FL communities
How It Works
1. Send your floor plan or survey. We respond with a written fee proposal within one business day. 2. Schematic design — typically within 7–10 days. 3. Permit set — sealed architecture + MEP construction documents submitted to your city. 4. We answer every plan-review comment until your permit is issued. New to commercial permitting? Start with our guides: Architect vs MEP engineer — who do you hire first? and How to get a commercial building permit in Houston.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need both an architect and an MEP engineer for a commercial permit?
In most Texas cities, yes — commercial permits require architectural drawings plus sealed mechanical, electrical, and plumbing plans. QD Design provides both in one package, which removes the most common cause of permit delays: coordination errors between separate firms.
How fast can you produce permit drawings?
Typical commercial tenant-improvement packages run 3–5 weeks from contract to submittal. We have delivered approved schematic design in 7 days on fast-track projects.
Which cities do you work in?
All of Texas — most frequently Houston, Cypress, Katy, Sugar Land, Pearland, League City, Tomball, Humble, Austin, Dallas–Fort Worth, and San Antonio — plus projects completed in Florida and Minnesota. See our service areas.
What does design cost?
Fees depend on square footage, project type, and scope (architecture only, MEP only, or full A/E). Send your floor plan and we’ll quote it within one business day — most clients find one combined A/E fee costs less than hiring two firms.