Most companies cannot afford to stop in order to renovate. The occupied site is the right solution – provided it is planned as such, with a coordination that governs phases, spaces and people all at once.
The real problem: three difficult coexistences
Working and running a construction site in the same building means managing three difficult coexistences: the safety of those working next to the operations, business continuity in reduced or temporary spaces, and the progress of the works, which cannot suffer continual slowdowns. When one of the three is not looked after, the consequences fall on the other two. Unmanaged noise wears people down; a poorly organised temporary space lowers productivity; a site that accumulates delays stretches the coexistence beyond what was planned.
Phasing as a coordination tool
The key is phasing: the site is divided into sequential zones, each with a defined perimeter, a schedule and access criteria. Before a zone is opened, the temporary relocation of the people occupying it is organised – to an area already free or to temporary workstations set up in advance. High-impact operations, whether noisy or dust-producing – demolitions, chasing, painting – are planned for outside working hours, during the times of lowest presence. Internal routes are redesigned to separate the site flows from the operational ones, with clear signage and dedicated access points.
Communication as part of the project
The occupied site also works because people know what to expect. Internal communication has to be planned together with the schedule: who moves, when, into which temporary space, for how many weeks. Regular progress updates reduce anxiety and increase tolerance of the inevitable disruptions. In this sense, the ARCHIlabs art direction and works supervision also serve to safeguard the internal experience – the site is not only a technical matter, but an organisational one.
The coordination of a single team
Managing an occupied site requires firm coordination across several trades at the same time. ARCHIlabs holds it with a consolidated team – architects, mechanical and electrical engineers, urban planners – that handles works supervision, art direction, testing and specialist activities. Having design and delivery under the same studio makes it simpler to phase the works and protect the continuity of the work.
And when it is production that cannot stop?
In a factory the constraint is even stronger: the line has to keep running. Designing and building while production continues requires phases conceived around the company's operations. It is part of our work on industrial buildings, see Industrial architecture: the shed as a project.