QD Design is a HUB-certified architecture and MEP engineering firm in Cypress, Texas that designs warehouses, shell buildings, industrial renovations, and office/warehouse tenant improvements across the Houston metro — architecture plus sealed mechanical, electrical, and plumbing permit sets under one contract. On a 25,250 SF industrial renovation, schematic design was approved 7 days after contract signing and the full design ran on a 3–4 week schedule. Industrial owners buy speed; we deliver it without cutting the code corners that stall permits.
What a Warehouse or Industrial Permit Set Includes
- Architecture: occupancy classification (S-1/S-2 storage, F-1 factory, B office) and mixed-use separation per IBC 2021, egress and life-safety plans, and TDLR/TAS accessibility documentation for office and employee areas.
- Mechanical: warehouse ventilation strategies per IMC 2021, office-area HVAC zoning split from high-bay space, and process loads — refrigeration, humidity control, and thermal loads for production facilities.
- Electrical: service capacity evaluation, one-line diagrams and power distribution, panel and SES coordination per NEC 2023 where adopted (NEC 2020 in many Houston-area jurisdictions), lighting power calculations, and IECC 2021 items reviewers actually flag — we resolved a City of Houston comment on 405.11 automatic receptacle controls on a 1,325 SF breakroom TI in a single response cycle.
- Plumbing: restroom fixture counts per IPC 2021, riser diagrams, and process or sanitation-grade drainage where the operation demands it.
- Energy compliance: COMcheck documentation for envelope, mechanical, and lighting.
Why One A/E Firm Beats a Separate Architect and Engineer
Industrial projects live or die on existing conditions. Renovations and expansions require someone to investigate the building’s electrical service, panels, transformers, and mechanical systems — then design around what’s actually there. When the architect and engineer are separate firms, the site findings get relayed secondhand and the drawings drift. QD Design runs site investigation, architecture, and MEP as one effort: on our Star Pipe renovation we identified existing service capacity, lighting panels, SES sections, and transformers up front so the new design reused existing infrastructure instead of specifying new. On our Webster expansion, one firm carried all six disciplines — architecture, civil, structural, and MEP — from a 4,000 SF existing building to a 10,000 SF permitted design in four to five weeks.
Industrial Projects We’ve Completed
- 25,250 SF industrial facility renovation, Houston — prime MEP engineer; schematic approved in 7 days, permit submittal 7 business days after client review, construction drawings 7 business days after that.
- Dual-building warehouse development, Houston — 5,400 SF and 4,700 SF buildings permitted in one coordinated MEP package with one-line diagrams and energy compliance.
- Underwood Business Park shell + TI, Houston area — base-building HVAC capacity, electrical metering provisions, and plumbing stubs engineered before tenants existed, so future buildouts permit faster.
- 4,000 → 10,000 SF commercial expansion, Webster — full A/E across six disciplines on an occupied site, with COMcheck for municipal approval.
- Food production & distribution facility, Houston — process HVAC, washdown-rated electrical, refrigeration loads, and sanitary drainage through multiple coordinated revision cycles as the production line evolved.
- Breakroom TI inside a mission-critical facility, Houston — 1,325 SF remodel permitted with IECC 405.11 comments resolved in one response cycle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need full mechanical design for an unconditioned warehouse?
Even unconditioned storage needs a code ventilation strategy under IMC 2021, and any office, breakroom, or restroom area triggers conditioned-space HVAC, energy compliance, and plumbing design. Most “simple” warehouse permits stall on exactly these support spaces. We scope the set to what your city will actually require — no more, no less.
Can you reuse my building’s existing electrical service?
Often, yes — but only after someone verifies it. We start renovations with a site investigation of service capacity, panels, SES sections, and transformers, then design to reuse what has headroom. On our 25,250 SF Star Pipe renovation that investigation let the new design ride on existing infrastructure where possible.
How fast can you permit a warehouse tenant improvement?
Our documented fast-track pace: schematic design approved 7 days after signing, permit package 7 business days after client review, construction drawings 7 business days after that — a 3–4 week total design schedule. City review time comes on top and varies by jurisdiction and workload.
What’s the advantage of designing shell buildings for future tenants?
Capacity planning. If the shell’s HVAC tonnage, electrical distribution, metering provisions, and plumbing stubs are sized and placed for likely tenant layouts — as we did at Underwood Business Park — every future lease space permits faster and builds cheaper. Retrofitting capacity after the shell is built is the expensive version.
Send us your floor plan — you’ll have a fee proposal within one business day.