Designing office spaces: from brief to execution plan

A Kytom design mission is a complete, enforceable deliverable: a costed occupancy diagnostic, a functional program validated by your project committee, 2 to 3 layout hypotheses, mood boards, an initial estimate at plus or minus 10%, then an execution file dimensioned at 1/50 with descriptions per trade and a 12-week schedule. All of it framed by a dedicated pairing of an interior architect and a project manager, under a quality process.

The regulatory framework is integrated from the kick-off note: the regulatory requirements on lighting, air and acoustics, as well as the acoustic performance classes per workstation. These classes remain a recommendation: Kytom calibrates them on the 80th percentile of observed occupancy, not on theoretical headcount, which avoids 20 to 30% of over-programmed surface in flex office. Recent national data confirm that 33% of executives work remotely at least one day per week; across our portfolio, observed presence rates range between 55 and 70%.

For an 850 m² project, Kytom’s design fits into four stages condensed over 3 to 5 weeks.

1. Diagnostic (5 to 10 business days): surveyor’s measurements, HVAC and electrical audit, observation of usage, interviews with 8 to 12 representative employees.
2. Functional program: translation into costed ratios (workstations, meeting rooms, phone-boxes, informal spaces), decisions validated in 2 workshops.
3. Sketch and preliminary design: 2 to 3 layout hypotheses, mood boards, estimate at plus or minus 10%.
4. Execution file: plans dimensioned at 1/50, detail booklets, descriptions per trade, 12-week schedule.

This framing freezes nearly all the structuring decisions before the worksite, a condition for a controlled design and build. Beyond 4 sketch iterations, Kytom closes the divergent phase with a written decision from the project sponsor, failing which the timeline slips and the budget gap widens.

Rigorous design produces three benefits measured across our portfolio.

Budget control. The gap between the schematic-design budget and the final invoice remains below 5%, thanks to an exhaustive technical description and a cost estimate per trade, rather than on overall ratios.

Reasoned densification. Our audits systematically reveal underused surfaces on legacy floors, square meters that can be reinvested in collaboration rooms or returned to the landlord during a lease renegotiation.

Internal buy-in. When your users take part in the design from the earliest phases, buy-in to the project and post-delivery satisfaction are significantly strengthened. Environmental frameworks are activated on demand, with a significant share of furniture reuse.

1. Diagnostic
   Over 5 to 10 business days: surveyor’s measurements, HVAC and electrical audit, observation of usage, interviews with 8 to 12 employees. Deliverable: a framing note validated by your real estate department, which sets the scope, constraints and ambitions before the sketch.
2. Functional program
   Translation of needs into costed ratios: workstations set on the 80th occupancy percentile, rooms sized by use, phone-boxes, focus spaces. Two project committee workshops validate the decisions within the window where they remain reversible without budget impact.
3. Sketch and preliminary design
   2 to 3 layout hypotheses, mood boards, initial works estimate at plus or minus 10%. A bounded divergent phase: beyond 4 iterations, a written decision from the project sponsor is required to move into convergence.
4. Execution file
   Plans dimensioned at 1/50, detail booklets, descriptions per trade, a provisional 12-week schedule. At this stage, the structuring decisions are frozen to secure execution. The file becomes the technical contract that secures the design and build phase.