There are two ways to get an office fitted out and the choice is made, often by accident, in the first fortnight. Either you appoint one firm to design and build the whole thing under a single contract, or you appoint a designer or architect first and tender the construction to contractors afterwards. Both work. They suit different projects and different clients.
Design and build
One firm, one contract, one point of responsibility. The design develops alongside live costs, so you know what the scheme will cost as it is drawn rather than after. Programmes are shorter because there is no tender period between design and construction, and there is nobody to blame but the one firm if something goes wrong.
The trade off is that the firm setting the specification is the firm delivering it. Design ambition is bounded by what the contractor is comfortable building, and there is less price competition on the construction itself. A fixed price contract and an independent cost check at stage two address most of that.
Design and build suits occupier projects up to around 30,000 square feet, clients who want certainty over ambition, and anyone on a tight programme. The office design and build companies in the directory range from design led studios with construction teams to contractors with in house designers; the difference shows in the work.
Architect plus contractor
An independent designer works for you, not for the builder. The design is tendered to three or four contractors, which puts real price competition on the construction. You get more design ambition and a scheme that is genuinely yours.
The cost is time and fees. Add six to ten weeks for the tender, and professional fees of 10 to 15% of construction cost across architect, project manager, cost consultant and engineers. There are more parties, so more meetings and more scope for things to fall between them.
This route suits larger headquarters, listed buildings, landlord Cat A programmes and any project where the design is the point. The enterprise firms on the office refurbishment contractors list are used to working to an architect’s drawings.
Choosing
Ask yourself which you would be most upset to get wrong: the look of the office or the date you move in. If the answer is the date, design and build. If the answer is the look, architect and contractor. If you are not sure, design and build with a design led firm and an independent cost check is the middle path most London occupiers end up on, and for good reason.
One more test. Check who owns the design on final payment. Most design and build firms assign it to the client; some retain it. It matters the day you want a different firm to extend the scheme.
