Office Fit Out Checklist | 10 Things to Consider Before You Start
An office fit out can transform how a business looks, feels and operates.
But some of the most important decisions happen long before anybody arrives on site.
If you’re considering an office refurbishment, relocation or complete fit out, here are ten questions worth answering first.
1. Why are you doing it?
It sounds obvious, but establish what problem the project needs to solve.
Perhaps you’ve outgrown the office.
Maybe working patterns have changed.
The workplace may feel tired, departments may be disconnected or the environment might no longer reflect the organisation.
Define the objectives before designing the solution.
2. How much space do you actually need?
Don’t automatically multiply the number of employees by the number of desks.
Look at occupancy, hybrid working patterns, growth projections and the different activities people undertake.
You may need fewer traditional workstations but more meeting, collaborative or quiet space.
3. What’s your budget?
Establishing a realistic budget early allows the design team to develop solutions within appropriate parameters.
Also consider what the budget needs to include.
Construction, furniture, IT, professional services, removals and other project costs may all need to be accounted for.
A sensible contingency should also be considered for unforeseen circumstances.
4. What’s your programme?
Start with the date the workplace needs to be operational and work backwards.
Allow time for design, approvals, cost development, procurement, construction, furniture installation, IT and handover.
Certain products can have significant lead times.
Starting early gives you more options.
5. What approvals will you need?
Depending on the property and proposed works, you may require landlord consent and statutory approvals.
Building work to existing commercial premises can also trigger Building Regulations requirements. Fire safety responsibilities apply to workplaces and other non-domestic premises. GOV.UK
These matters should be investigated at the beginning rather than discovered halfway through construction.
6. What condition are the existing services in?
The things you can’t immediately see can have a major impact on the project
Heating, cooling, ventilation, electrical capacity, lighting, data and fire systems should all be considered.
Understanding existing infrastructure can identify constraints and opportunities before the design becomes too advanced.
7. How do your people actually work?
Talk to the people using the space.
Different departments may have very different requirements.
A finance team might value quiet concentration.
A project team may need frequent informal collaboration.
Salespeople might spend substantial periods away from the office.
One workplace doesn’t have to mean one type of workspace.
8. What can you reuse?
Before clearing the building, identify what deserves another life.
Furniture, services and elements of the existing fit out may be suitable for retention or refurbishment.
Current industry thinking increasingly considers reuse and circularity as part of commercial fit-out strategy, both to reduce waste and extend the useful life of existing assets. RICS
9. What happens when your business changes?
Today’s perfect layout may not be perfect in three years.
Think about growth, contraction, technology and evolving working practices.
Could meeting rooms be reconfigured?
Can furniture move?
Could teams expand without another major refurbishment?
Designing adaptability into the project now may make future change much easier.
10. Who is responsible for bringing everything together?
An office fit out involves numerous interconnected decisions.
The design affects the mechanical services.
The layout affects furniture.
The furniture affects power and data.
The specification affects cost.
The programme affects procurement.
The most successful projects therefore require coordination rather than a collection of isolated decisions.
One final question
Before starting, ask:
What would make us look back at this project in five years and say it was a success?
The answer probably won’t be we fitted 62 desks into 8,000 square feet.
It may be that people enjoy using the workplace.
That the business grew without immediately outgrowing it.
That customers are impressed when they visit.
That teams work together more effectively.
Or simply that the space still looks and performs brilliantly several years later.
That’s a much better starting point for a brief.
Planning your next commercial interior project?
360 Commercial Projects provides commercial interior design, office fit out, refurbishment and furniture solutions, helping clients move from the first conversation and initial design through costing, construction and completion.
