What Is It?
What the office fitout process entails will vary depending on who you ask, but the basic definition is the transformation of a potential office space so that it can be used as an office. Despite this, the process can incorporate many different elements to achieve this end result. Elements such as the design process, acquiring the office space in the first place, buying desks & furniture, and potentially much, much more.
So, What Would an Ultimate Office Fitout Entail?
If you’re looking for an office space that fulfils your true wants and needs as a company, you need to make sure you cover every angle. What you need is an office space that reflects your brand as a company, fulfils the needs of the company, and inspires and invigorates your workforce. Achieving this much easier said than done, so there’s many angles that need to be covered:
First – You Need A Workplace Accommodation Strategy From Office Fitout Professionals
Creating a workplace accommodation strategy is our default first step here at Contour Interiors. It is the basic intent establishment process where we work with you to identify and address several challenges and concerns that your company may be experiencing with its current workspace, and is therefore — in our view — close to the most vital part of the process.
At Contour, we have spent several years developing a highly nuanced & refined strategic process (that utilises legitimate and important data) for nailing the initial workplace strategy. Our process ensures that your company or organisation receives a purpose-built workspace that reflects your brand, company culture, and your wants and needs as a company & workforce.
Second – Securing the Physical Space
A benefit of using comprehensive, bespoke office fitout professionals like Contour is that we can manage the entire project for you from inception to completion. This includes securing and then acquiring the physical space for your future office, which means we go deep into the building liaison process to find the perfect space in the ideal location (the ideal location as discovered and defined in the workplace strategy, or any location you prefer).
It is hugely important to know (or at least have a good idea of) the space that your office will use, even this early into the process, before design concepts and drafts are made. This ensures that the design fits with the physical space it will be occupying, as well as ensuring that the tenancy guidelines set by the building managers are followed to the letter. This makes it essential to begin the building liaison process as soon as your workplace strategy is established.
Third – Concept Design
When designing an office interior, it is important to consider a number of factors, including the needs and wants of the employees who will be using the space, the aesthetic desires of the business owner, and the budget. One of the most important aspects of the conceptual phase of design (that all good office fitout professionals will insist on) is getting the layout and layout ideas down on paper — this allows for plenty of flexibility during the design phase and avoids any potential misunderstandings or conflict between the different parties involved. Additionally, if the layout is not initially agreed upon, it can be changed later on in the process, without disrupting other work and potentially compromising the final product.
Getting the layout and layout ideas down on paper is only one part of the process, though. It’s also important to explore all the risks associated with getting the conceptual phase wrong and the benefits of getting it right. If you are unclear about what you want, and then the layout needs to be changed mid-execution, for example, it can cause tension and conflict among the various stakeholders, which could ultimately result in a poor design. Conversely, if you participate heavily in the conceptual phase with your commercial office fitout professionals, and get the concept design down from as early as possible, there is much less risk that it will not meet the needs of the employees or the business owner.
Fourth – Design Development
Design development is the process of transforming a design concept into a final design draft. It cannot be understated how in-depth this development phase can get — it involves heavy analysis of your needs as a company and workforce, some light trial and error, a lot of back and forth, and essentially going down the rabbit hole of interior design theory. With your input at every point, and the expertise of office fitout companies like ourselves guiding said input in a practical way, you can rest assured that the final design draft will result in the ideal office for your business.
Here at Contour, we offer a range of benefits that make us a valuable choice for working with: how individualised each fitout project is; how in-depth our industry research is; our commitment to listen to and follow the client’s needs; and our practice of providing you with in-depth design documentation at every stage of the process. We are nationally leading office fitout professionals, and our commitment is to your vision. If you want some examples of what we have done for other national and international clients, visit our portfolio page, but keep in mind that we are prepared to fulfil your vision, not ours. There is no such thing for us as a project that is “too esoteric” or “out of our ball park.”
Fifth – Final Execution
The final execution phase is where all the work that has been done in the previous phases comes together. It is during this phase that the layout and design is transformed into a physical space. This is where the magic happens.
It’s not over until it’s over — there are two steps to closing out a fitout project. Once all the office furniture, fixtures, and equipment are delivered, unpacked and installed, the final step is to commence the training of employees and making sure that everyone is comfortable and knows how to use their new office.
Conclusion
There are many steps and even more moving parts in an office design & fitout project, and so much can so easily go wrong due to poor communication, lack of resources, lack of time, poor planning and more. But if you work with office fitout professionals who have the right experience, you can rest assured that your project is in good hands. We are here to help you every step of the way, and we’re not just talking — we’re walking the walk. Contact us today or view our portfolio to see our past work.
