Pre-planning is what eliminates project errors

Almost every serious problem on a luxury retail fit-out was visible at inception. It was simply not written down.

The five risk families

At inception we work through five families of risk — landlord, regulation, site, sourcing and programme — and hand the maison a strategy for each one before design starts.

• Landlord. Fit-out guide revisions, design committee cycles, hoarding and delivery restrictions.
• Regulation. Egress, fire rating, signage consent, accessibility, and which authority sits on the critical path.
• Site. The measured condition versus the survey the concept was drawn against.
• Sourcing. Lead times on specified finishes, and whether an equivalent exists locally.
• Programme. Working windows, curfews, and what the mall's trading calendar actually allows.

Why it works

A risk that is named at inception has a strategy. A risk discovered on site has a change order.