Why Alquimia Exists
Most general contractors are in the business of managing a spread. They take your budget, divide the work among whoever bids lowest, and protect the gap between what you paid and what was spent. Their incentive is the margin — not your outcome. The result is a construction industry where the client is often the last person the contractor is working for.
Alquimia was built as a deliberate alternative to that model.
Fulton Davenport founded Alquimia Inc. in Houston after years of working at the intersection of architecture, building science, and high-end construction — and watching what happens when those disciplines are not integrated into a single accountable contractor. Clients with genuine vision for their homes were being handed off to GCs who did not read structural drawings, did not understand building science, and did not care whether the mechanical system was sized correctly as long as it passed inspection.
The clients who could afford to build something exceptional deserved a contractor who was actually accountable to that standard.
Alquimia was the answer to that problem. A firm built for a specific kind of client. Structured around a specific kind of model. Committed to a specific standard of practice that does not vary by project size, budget range, or neighborhood.
How We Are Structured — And Why
Alquimia operates as a boutique design-build firm with a deliberate structure: one principal, one standard, and a curated network of the best specialists in Houston and across Texas.
One point of accountability. Fulton Davenport manages every Alquimia project. Not a project manager who reports to a project manager. Not an estimator who hands off to a superintendent who hands off to a subcontractor. One person who understands the design, reads the structural drawings, knows the building science, and is accountable to the client from the first conversation to the final walk-through.
The best specialist for every challenge. The Alquimia model is not to employ a permanent crew and keep them busy. It is to bring the best specialist to every challenge — the tile installer whose tolerance for large-format porcelain is the tightest in the city, the mechanical contractor who designs ERV systems from actual building load calculations rather than rule-of-thumb sizing, the structural welder whose work you can photograph and be proud of. The specialist network is the product. Knowing who to bring is the expertise.
Cost-plus, exclusively. Every Alquimia project is priced on a cost-plus basis. Every dollar spent — materials, subcontractor invoices, permit fees, equipment — is documented and passed to the client at actual cost. Our fee is our fee: separate, explicit, and covering project management, building science integration, specialist curation, and accountability across every phase. There is no hidden margin. There is no lump-sum number we generated before the work started and are now protecting.
This model attracts a specific client. And it repels a specific client. Both outcomes are intentional.
Why Building Science Is the Foundation — Not the Feature
Every Alquimia project is governed by building science. This is not a differentiator we market. It is a standard of practice that determines how we specify materials, design mechanical systems, and sequence every phase of construction.
Building science is the discipline that governs how structures perform as systems — how they manage heat, air, moisture, and ventilation over time. A home that does not manage these systems correctly will develop problems that no finish quality can compensate for: moisture accumulating in walls that never dry, mechanical systems that cannot maintain comfort because they were sized by habit rather than load calculation, air quality problems that accumulate behind impeccable surfaces.
The clients who understand this are the clients who call Alquimia. They are not looking for a contractor who will build what they can see. They are looking for a contractor who will build what they cannot — the systems behind the surfaces that determine whether a home performs over decades, not just on move-in day.
Alquimia brings building science to every project — custom home builds, whole-home remodels, luxury bathroom renovations, high-rise condo renovations, and passive house construction. It is not an upgrade. It is the floor.
Fulton Davenport — President & Owner
Fulton Davenport is the founder and sole principal of Alquimia Inc. He manages every project the firm takes on — not as a figurehead, but as the person responsible for every decision from scope development through final delivery.
His background spans architecture, building science, and high-end residential construction across Houston and across Texas. He has worked on architect-driven custom homes, complex whole-home renovations in Houston’s most demanding residential buildings, rural land builds in the Hill Country and East Texas, and passive house projects at the leading edge of what high-performance construction looks like in a Texas climate.
He started Alquimia because he believed clients at the premium end of the market deserved a contractor who was as serious about the building as their architect was about the design. That belief is still the operating principle of the firm.
Fulton is based in Houston. He takes on the number of projects that allow him to be fully present on each one — which means Alquimia is not the right firm for every client, and that is exactly the point.
The Client’s Alquimia Is Built For
Discerning homeowners who have had the contractor experience before — and know what they do not want to repeat. Budget surprises, subcontractors who disappear, finishes that looked right on completion day and revealed their shortcuts within two years. They want a contractor who executes completely, correctly, and without leaving them to manage the gap between what was promised and what was delivered.
Architects and interior designers who need a general contractor who can execute to their standard. Who reads construction documents. Who understands the design intent behind a specification. Who does not value-engineer the project into something the design team would not recognize. Alquimia is the contractor architects recommend to their clients when the project matters enough to get right.
Developers and property investors working at the premium end of the Houston market — where finish quality, building system performance, and documented construction process matter to the buyer or tenant profile they are targeting.
Alquimia is not the right firm for clients whose primary decision criterion is the lowest bid. That is not a criticism — it is a recognition that different clients need different contractors. The clients who call Alquimia have already decided that getting it right is worth more than getting it cheap.
Is Alquimia a general contractor or a design-build firm?
Both, depending on the project. We operate as a general contractor executing an architect’s or designer’s documents on projects where the design is already developed. We operate as the design-build lead on projects where the client needs both design direction and construction execution from a single accountable partner. The distinction that matters most is not the label — it is that there is one point of contact and one standard of accountability throughout.
How many projects does Alquimia take on at a time?
A limited number — deliberately. Fulton Davenport manages every project personally, which means the number of active projects at any time is the number that allows him to be fully present on each one. We do not take on more work than we can execute at our standard.
Why cost-plus only? Why not fixed-price bids?
Because the incentives in a fixed-price model run directly counter to the quality of your project. In a lump-sum contract, the contractor makes more money by spending less. In a cost-plus model, our fee is fixed — our incentive is to bring the right specialist and use the right material, because the quality of the outcome is what our reputation depends on. We believe transparent pricing is the only model that actually aligns our interests with yours.
Do you work with clients who already have an architect?
Yes — and this is one of our most common project types. Architects and designers recommend Alquimia specifically because we execute to their standard without value-engineering the design into something they would not recognize. If you are working with a design team, we fit into that relationship as the contractor who protects the design through construction.
What does "building science" mean in practice on an Alquimia project?
t means we treat the building as a system, not a collection of finishes. Before any finish decision is made, we have addressed the building envelope (airtightness, thermal performance, moisture management), the mechanical system design (sized from actual load calculations, not rule of thumb), and the sequencing of systems that determines whether the building performs correctly over time. On every project, not as an upgrade.
Are you based in Houston? Do you work outside the city?
Alquimia is based in Houston at 1626 Richmond Avenue. We regularly manage builds on rural Texas properties — Hill Country, East Texas, Gulf Coast — as well as projects in The Woodlands, Katy, Sugar Land, and surrounding communities. Rural builds require more site logistics, and we price that honestly.