"How long will it take?" is the question that comes straight after "how much will it cost". The honest answer is that the timing depends on variables almost nobody considers – and that delays, in the vast majority of cases, start before the site works begin.
The phases that precede the site works
An office renovation begins long before the works. The first phase is the needs analysis: interviews and surveys to distil what is really needed – the teams' typical day, the stated and latent needs, the constraints of the building. Then comes design: concept, detailed design, technical specifications. Before the site can open, the permits have to be handled – building applications, approvals from the condominium or the owner, declarations of systems compliance – along with the tenders, with the selection of contractors and the negotiation of contracts. Only then do the site works begin. Underestimating the earlier phases is the most frequent cause of slippage: not because they are unpredictable, but because they are often ignored in the initial plan.
The variables that stretch the timing
Delays almost always have the same origin. Deferred decisions hold up procurement: if the client does not confirm the materials, the contractor cannot order and the supplies slip. Changes once the site is open require rework that stretches the programme and drives up costs. Supplies with long lead times – custom flooring, bespoke furniture, special systems – have to be ordered weeks or months ahead of the installation phase. Underestimated permits hold up the start of the works while waiting for procedures thought to be quick. Knowing these variables in advance makes it possible to build a programme with realistic margins – and to manage them before they turn into delays.
A single team shortens the handovers
Part of the timing is lost in the handovers between those who design, those who supply and those who build. ARCHIlabs cuts them with a consolidated multidisciplinary team – architects, mechanical and electrical engineers, urban planners – that also manages the delivery: works supervision, art direction, testing and specialist activities. Design and execution coordinated by the same studio make it possible to overlap the phases where feasible and to step in immediately when something unexpected arises.