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Experts in creating amazing work space environments.

A GUIDE TO The Office Design Process

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Cont

ents

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Introduction

What do we want our office design to say about us?

Who do we choose as a design team?

How does the current office work for us?

What does the office design need to achieve?

How do we choose our building?

What does a good design look like?

What about the technical design?

Are we happy with the proposals?

When does the design period finish?

Who can we talk to?

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The creative process will start at the very beginning

of your office move or in the refurbishment project,

evolving into agreed upon proposals and only

finishing in the final stages of the project build phase.

The choices made such as your design team, all the

way through to the inspiration and the ultimate

vision for your scheme will have a larger impact on

the eventual outcome of the project than almost any

other factor.

We have put together this simple overview for you to keep

you informed of the key developments that you should

encounter.

Chameleon are experts in providing everything you need in

office design, refurbishment and office relocations. We hope

you find this guide useful.

Intr

oduc

tion

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Your office space will ultimately form a key part in in

providing a corporate image which will help influence

clients, employees, potential new recruits, the general

public and investors. You should always discuss and

create the message which you want your design

concept to reflect.

Office design is no longer restrained and moderate. Fun and

outrageous designs are found a lot more easily and a look at

the modern interiors which are available today for the different

environments should be a great cause of inspiration.

You should be able to make a decision about where you would

like to be within the design scale. Recently completed projects

throughout the business community and within your own

sector should also be looked at when making your decision.

There are also plenty of websites from interior designer and

office improvement specialists, which showcase new designs

which may give you that inspiration you need.

What do we want our office design to say about us?

Keep a track of any completed projects and any inspirational office deign that you find on the internet.

You can see our completed projects plus inspiration on our website, www.c-b-i.co.uk

Start with an open mind and don’t just replicate your existing space, office design has moved on quickly in the last few years.

Key Points

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This is possibly the most difficult decision you will

encounter during the process.

Look at their finished work and meet previous clients and you

can request shortlisted design teams to pitch their services

against a basic test brief in direct competition with one

another. This provides the acid test to establish how well they

understand your business, to see the quality of their work and

to experience their adherence to tight deadlines.

It is important to appoint your chosen designers with a keen

eye on your contractual position and how the development

process is going to run.

There will be a number of variables affecting this decision such

as timescales and the best methodology for driving through

competitive costs further down the line.

Who do we choose as a design team?

Key PointsA good design team, will understand that there is more to achieve than providing initially great visuals.

Look for a design team that will be able to provide a design that suits your organisation, comes in on price and makes best use of space. They should be organised and they should be able to schedule in work efficiently and work to agreed timescales.

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Right now is the perfect time for you to assess how

things are within your current work environment.

You should conduct an honest appraisal of how

everything works for you. How is the space being

utilised? How much time is spent in different parts?

Whatever works and also whatever fails is a great place to start

your planning process. Sending out a questionnaire to all of

your employees will put you in a position where you will be

able to gain a better understanding into all of the positives

and negatives. This can be invaluable towards understanding

the best route forward for the practical elements of the design

work. Outputs for the review stage should include the staff

survey, environmental reports, space analysis data and a space

time utilisation study.

How does the current office work for us?

Key PointsIf you have the time, consider having a full workplace appraisal study by an independent professional.

Conduct a staff survey to fully understand how your staff feel regarding their current work environment.

Allow them to have a confidential feedback loop so you can receive open and accurate information to be used for the design process.

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You need to provide adequate information in your

briefing document which will enable your designers

to develop a compatible scheme moving forward. You

may want to assign this responsibility to one member

of your team. It is also a good idea to let anyone who

has shown interest in the initial process, to have input

into the final output. A common mistake is to put

together an in-depth brief only for the managing

director to then step in weeks later, throwing the plans

into disorder.

Content which should be included in the document should

be factual basics such as headcount per department, inter

departmental relationships, meeting rooms and number of

offices through to aspirational topics such as the desired look

and feel and style that you would like to achieve. It is also

important to point out areas which you feel don’t work in your

current space as it is in the new office.

What does the office design need to achieve?

Key PointsMake sure that all people who showed in interest in the initial thought process are involved. Specifically senior members of the team.

Make sure that you have a stable brief with plenty of direction concerning goals for the look, feel and quality as well as the practical issues.

Make sure the job done is thorough. The brief is the foundation of the entire process. If you have time to undertake a full workplace study, this will help the brief dramatically and is highly recommended.

Decide how seriously you will take sustainability concerns within your project.

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Choosing your building will depend on a number of

different factors. These can range from the location,

floor availability, terms of the lease and who your

neighbours will be through to the financial incentives

from your landlord. It is also important to consider the

suitability of the space for your design needs. In this

instance, design can be split into two areas.

The practical element whereby the space will need to be

planned and tested to ensure that it will work to your brief and

also flows within the available footprint. Alongside this your

technical team will need to look at the new building and asses

its suitability to your services and how this will impact on the

design.

A good designer will always make sure that they apply a

design that works with the flow of the space. Taking things

such as windows, air conditioning etc. into account. By

ensuring this the scheme will be cost effective, maintainable

and compatible. Every building will have its own distinctive

characteristics and once they have had your brief applied to

them you will have the chance to make an educated building

selection based on the practicalities, aesthetics, and fee.

How do we choose our building?

Key PointsWe cannot reiterate how important it is that you choose the correct building. This is why we use it as a theme throughout all of our guides.

The aesthetic and feel of a building will impact the capability of the designers to apply your brief effectively. It is though extremely important to ensure that the services are integrated into the solution appropriately.

Make sure you also have a strong technical team who will be backing up the creative team.

Make a list of key conditions for your new building and include the senior team in building visits once you have made a list.

Building your feasibility report should include a focus on environmental impact and efficiencies system within the space.

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After completing your building selection, the design

team are now able to develop a concept that will

work with the proposed new space. A strong design

team will be able to produce numerous different

ideas to help to make your space suitable to your

organisations individual needs.

Quite often, areas that will be used a lot by clients such as

the reception and meeting rooms will gain a lot of attention.

You should always feel free to be able to pass criticism onto

your team to ensure that you get the best possible results.

Designers will usually take to the ideas phase with a varied

range of approaches to showcase their concepts. This

may include sketches, space plans, video concepts, virtual

walkthroughs and 3D visuals.

At the end of this stage you should have an approved space

plan showing every room, desk and piece of equipment

needed. You should have also signed off several design

concepts. This will include colour schemes and visual analyses.

What does a good design look like?

Key PointsMake sure you insist on numerous design concept ideas.

Encourage creativity within your design team. Let them show you what they can do with at least one of the options.

Always give good and honest feedback. The design team need to know if they miss the mark so that they can react to the situation quickly.

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Once the outline of the design has been signed off,

the design team can then move towards the detailing

phase. All layout plans will need to be confirmed

followed by the development of detailed service

drawings. High level lighting, air conditioning services

and floor boxes for power and data will be made to

work in conjunction with each other. All construction

drawings for, server room detail drawings and a

comprehensive finishes schedule will need to be

signed off.

Seamless design is the marriage of stimulating concepts and

attention to detail which when applied exudes quality. The

inexperienced eye may not understand how good design

comes about but certainly appreciates it when it is produced.

When moving through the detailed design phase you will

also be interacting with the technical teams who should be

providing specifications and costs in line with the planned

design. This is an intense period of the project and should

be driven in line with the overall programme by your office

improvement supplier or project manager.

What about the technical design?

Key PointsWait until the concepts and lay-outs are signed off before you allow a supplier to start work on the design phase.

Ensure you have a complete list of details that are being produced. You will need to view and appreciate every element to make sure that your aspirations are met on completion.

Have budgets developed together with the detailed design process to guarantee that your scheme isn’t being over designed.

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Are we happy with the proposals?

Key PointsAs your design progresses, keep an eye on it. You will need to allow enough time to review and negotiate if necessary.

Make sure that all of the legal regulations are agreed and in good order and view all of the approvals prior to works commencing.

Don’t rush the review and negotiation phase. Often design intent can be maintained when budgets are under pressure by clever value engineering and re-design.

You should now be reaching the point where

your detailed design scheme needs to be agreed,

frozen and signed off to enable inclusion within the

contract documents. One of the highest causes of

disagreement and cost increase on interiors projects is

the failure to implement this procedure competently.

Without having an agreed upon design plan, it is

impossible for your supplier to be able to guarantee

your official project costs.

An extended design period can sometimes lead to cost

uncertainty and can also put pressure on programme. A

mixture of these leaves you vulnerable to negotiation tactics.

In conjunction to finalising drawing packages and related

design issues, this period requires consideration from your

supplier with regard to due diligence.

Office interiors will always be subject to complying with

various forms of legislation. These will include building

regulations, health and safety law and also means of escape

in the events of a fire. It is pivotal therefore that you have

confidence in your team to be able to carry this out correctly

before the work starts. Failure to do so can at worst mean a

total rebuild at a later date and all of the associated disruption.

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Throughout the building phase of the project, design

is usually able to take more of a back seat. The head

designer of your project should be making regular

visits to the site to make sure that the design vision is

being applied.

The construction team will usually be working towards a strict

budget. You must therefore always ensure that none of the

original concept is compromised by the contractor trying to

save on costs. You should certainly be able to now start seeing

your vision coming to life.

As the client, you may not have a great knowledge of the

design and detail but most issues should become apparent

as the project develops. You should make sure that as

problems arise, they are dealt with straight away and that all

adjustments are made. The may be something like a colour

which doesn’t quite work or even a spatial issue.

Once the project is complete, a well thought out design

really should stand the test of time. You will of course need

alterations and additions to the space as your business grows

and develops. You should be provided with a set of operation

and maintenance manuals by your supplier, make sure you

keep hold of these as they will become invaluable towards

future changes.

When does the design period finish?

Key PointsThroughout the project, make sure you keep an eye out for anything that does not necessarily work for you. Trust your instincts and speak out if you don’t like something. By the end of the project, it is often too late to change.

Ensure that you are given an all-inclusive operation and maintenance manual at the end of the project. This will help with all future amendments.

Some contractors may try to take short cuts to ensure that they have a bigger profit margin. Watch carefully to make sure that this doesn’t happen so that it doesn’t reflect badly on the detail of the design scheme.

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Who can we talk to?

You should now have everything that you need to be

able to walk into project meetings and know exactly

what you are talking about.

If this is the start of your office improvement process then we

hope we have assisted in putting you on the path to victory.

We have more useful guides too and they are yours for free

just visit our website.

If you would like to speak to one of our workplace experts for

advice and recommendations we provide a free initial consult

service find out more by contacting using the following

methods below.

Email: info@c-b-i.co.uk

Telephone: 01482 221004

OfficesHull

2 Humber QuaysIsland WharfHullHU1 2BN

Birmingham

Colmore Plaza20 Colmore Circus QueenswayBirmingham B4 6AT

Leeds

Princes ExchangePrinces SquareLeeds LS1 4HY

York

Innovation CentreYork Science ParkYorkYO10 5DG

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www.c-b-i.co.uk01482 221004

“ We believe that good design provides return on investment, by improving team

productivity, client relations and making best use of space.”