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Design-Build Coordination & Project Delivery
Your bridge between design vision and construction reality.
Overview
The gap between a beautiful design and a beautifully built landscape is where most projects lose their way. Miscommunicated details, unauthorized field changes, and material substitutions can erode design intent and diminish the final result. Tong Design Associates bridges that gap through design-build landscaping coordination — a service model in which we remain actively involved throughout the construction phase, ensuring that every element is built exactly as designed. Our landscape project management approach begins with contractor selection guidance. We help you evaluate bids, assess contractor qualifications, and establish clear scopes of work. Once construction begins, we provide ongoing construction oversight through regular site visits, progress documentation, and direct communication with trade contractors. We review material deliveries against specifications, verify layout dimensions before concrete is poured, and confirm that planting is installed at the correct spacing and depth. Design interpretation is a critical part of our role. Construction drawings, no matter how detailed, require on-site clarification as real-world conditions reveal themselves. We provide field guidance to resolve questions about grading transitions, material alignments, drainage connections, and finish details — preventing the kind of improvised solutions that compromise quality. Our quality control process culminates in a comprehensive final walkthrough where every element is evaluated against the original design documents. We prepare a punch list of items requiring correction and follow up until every detail meets our standards. This design-driven coordination model ensures that the landscape you approved in renderings is the landscape you walk through when construction is complete.
What This Includes
Every component of our design-build coordination & project delivery offering, detailed.
Contractor Coordination & Scheduling
Managing contractor relationships, timelines, and communication throughout the build.
Design Interpretation & Field Clarifications
On-site guidance ensuring construction teams accurately interpret the design intent.
Material & Finish Verification
Quality control on materials, finishes, and installations to maintain design standards.
Construction Oversight
Regular site visits to monitor progress and prevent on-the-fly changes.
Quality Control & Final Walkthrough
Comprehensive final inspection ensuring every detail meets the original design vision.
Featured Projects
See this service in action across our portfolio.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you act as the general contractor on landscape projects?
No. We are designers, not contractors. Our role is to lead the project through design-driven coordination — ensuring that licensed contractors build the landscape according to our design documents. We do not hold a contractor's license, perform construction, or employ construction crews. This separation allows us to advocate for design quality without the conflicts of interest that arise when the designer and builder are the same entity.
How often do you visit the construction site?
Visit frequency depends on the project phase and complexity. During critical stages such as grading, pool shell formation, and hardscape layout, we may visit weekly or more frequently. During less intensive phases, biweekly visits are typical. We also remain available for phone and email consultations between visits to address time-sensitive questions.
Can you help us select and evaluate contractors?
Yes. We provide guidance on contractor selection, including how to evaluate bids, assess references, and establish clear scopes of work. While we do not formally bid projects or serve as a construction manager, our experience working with dozens of contractors gives us insight into what to look for and what to avoid.
What happens when site conditions differ from the design drawings?
This is precisely why our coordination role is valuable. When unexpected conditions arise — hidden utilities, soil issues, or dimensional discrepancies — we evaluate the situation and provide design-consistent solutions. Rather than leaving contractors to improvise, we adapt the design in a way that preserves the original intent while addressing the new reality.
Is design-build coordination included in the design fee?
Construction-phase coordination is typically a separate service from the design phase. It is priced based on the anticipated project duration and visit frequency. Many clients find that the investment in coordination pays for itself by preventing costly mistakes, change orders, and material waste during construction.
Related Services
Explore complementary services that work together with this offering.
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