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The RIBA Plan of Work 2020 provides a useful structure: Strategic Definition; Preparation and Briefing; Concept Design; Spatial Coordination; Technical Design; Manufacturing and Construction; Handover; and Use. It is guidance for organising professional services and building contracts, not a substitute for a project-specific appointment, contract, design or legal advice.
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Start with the business case, not the design
Before anyone draws partitions, agree why the project is needed and what a successful result would change. The need might be additional capacity, better collaboration, improved accessibility, a change in operating model, consolidation of sites or a building-services upgrade. These are prompts for discussion, not a universal office specification.
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Separate the underlying requirement from the first solution suggested by a stakeholder. “We need an open-plan floor” is a proposed response; “we need to support collaborative work while providing quiet, accessible spaces” is a requirement that can be tested against several options.
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At this point, examine whether construction is the right answer at all. A refurbishment, lease change, relocation, phased occupation or operational change may meet the need more effectively. The RIBA framework expects the client team to consider feasible options, site information, risks, budget and likely outcomes before ratifying a preferred direction. Relevant strategies may include cost, fire safety, health and safety, inclusive design, planning, procurement, use and sustainability.
Questions to answer before appointing the design team
- What business or operational problem must the workplace solve?
- Who will use the space, and what work activities and user groups must it support?
- What constraints exist in the building, lease, operation, budget and programme?
- What outcomes will demonstrate that the project worked?
- What information is already available, and which surveys or investigations are needed?
- What decisions must the client make, and by when?
Record the assumptions behind the preferred option. If the building condition, occupancy pattern or budget later changes, the team can identify which assumptions have failed instead of treating the resulting redesign as a surprise.
Use the eight RIBA stages as a control framework
RIBA describes its framework as organising the process of briefing, designing, delivering, maintaining, operating and using a building into eight stages. The following table translates the named stages into practical fit-out outputs.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors| RIBA stage | What the team is trying to achieve | Typical decisions or outputs |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic Definition | Establish the need and test feasible options | Client requirements, business case, site appraisal, initial risks, budget considerations and preferred option |
| Preparation and Briefing | Turn requirements into a controlled, testable brief | Project brief, sustainability outcomes, spatial requirements, feasibility studies, site information, budget, programme, execution plan, procurement strategy, responsibility matrix and information requirements |
| Concept Design | Test a design idea against the brief and strategies | Architectural concept, outline engineering requirements, cost-plan alignment, outline specification, design reviews and documented changes to the brief |
| Spatial Coordination | Make architecture, engineering, cost and strategy work together | Coordinated spatial design, engineering analysis, cost exercises, updated strategies, change control and design programme |
| Technical Design | Complete coordinated information for procurement and construction | Architectural and engineering technical design, building-systems information and integrated specialist-subcontractor design |
| Manufacturing and Construction | Build, inspect, commission and document the project | Site logistics, manufacture and installation, progress monitoring, inspections, resolved site queries, commissioning and building manual |
| Handover | Transfer a usable building, records and responsibilities | Practical-completion certificate, defects list, building manual, health and safety file, fire safety information, asset information, aftercare and performance review |
| Use | Operate the workplace and verify the intended outcomes | Facilities and asset management, post-occupancy evaluation, outcome verification and lessons for future projects |
The framework is a map for decisions and information exchanges. The appointment, contract and statutory duties for a particular office still need to be defined by the client and competent advisers.
Preparation and Briefing: make the brief usable
A brief should allow a designer, cost consultant and contractor to make consistent decisions without repeatedly asking what the client means. Include the intended project outcomes, sustainability outcomes, quality aspirations and spatial requirements, then test whether they are feasible within the building, budget and programme.
Build the brief around work, users and operations
Describe the work the office must support rather than prescribing a fashionable layout. Document user groups, activities, privacy and concentration needs, meeting and collaboration patterns, reception and visitor arrangements, storage, welfare, inclusivity, technology, security, deliveries, cleaning and maintenance access. State operational constraints such as continued occupation, restricted working hours, noisy-work windows, landlord approvals or phased moves.
Translate these topics into room and support-space requirements only after the activities are understood. Do not apply a generic workstation-density or space-per-person rule without project-specific evidence; existing building geometry, working patterns, accessibility and services capacity can change the answer substantially.
Set outcomes that can be checked
The RIBA Plan for Use guide recommends realistic, measurable targets that are carried through the project. Depending on the client’s priorities, targets may cover energy, embodied and operational carbon, water, waste, comfort and wellbeing. For each target, identify the baseline, responsible person, evidence required, review date and acceptance method. A target that has no owner or verification method is an aspiration, not a control.
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Assemble the information needed for a decision
- Commission appropriate surveys of the existing building, services, structure, fire precautions, asbestos where relevant and accessibility conditions.
- Record lease, landlord, planning, building-control and operational constraints.
- Prepare feasibility studies for the realistic options, including programme, disruption, risks and likely cost implications.
- Agree the project budget and identify allowances, exclusions, contingencies and client-supplied items.
- Set the programme around decisions, approvals, procurement, construction, commissioning, move and occupation—not just the period on site.
- Prepare the project execution plan, procurement strategy, responsibility matrix and information requirements.
Freeze the brief only at a point that still allows informed changes. When a requirement changes later, record the reason, affected documents, cost, programme, compliance and performance consequences, then obtain the approval required by the project’s governance.
Concept Design: test the proposal before committing to it
Concept design should demonstrate how the preferred approach could meet the brief. Develop the architectural concept with strategic engineering requirements, the cost plan, project strategies and an outline specification in view. The client and stakeholders should review the proposal against agreed outcomes, not only its visual appeal.
Make departures visible
If the concept cannot deliver a requirement, document the departure. RIBA’s template refers to these as project brief derogations. Explain what changed, why it changed, which alternatives were considered, and the effect on cost, programme, quality, inclusion, safety and operational performance. A silent omission becomes an argument during construction; an approved change becomes a controlled baseline.
Run structured design reviews
- Check the concept against each stated functional and spatial requirement.
- Review access, inclusive design, fire strategy, health and safety, security and building-services assumptions.
- Test the concept against the current cost plan and programme.
- Identify information still needed from surveys, the landlord, authorities or specialist designers.
- Record actions, owners and dates in the stage design programme.
Do not treat a concept approval as permission to postpone unresolved fundamentals. Approval should state the assumptions and residual risks that must be closed during spatial and technical coordination.
Spatial Coordination: make the systems fit together
At spatial coordination, design studies, engineering analysis and cost exercises test whether the concept works as a coordinated workplace. The result should align with the updated cost plan, project strategies and outline specification.
Coordinate the issues that cause late change
Check ceiling zones, structural constraints, fire compartments and escape routes, ventilation and cooling distribution, electrical capacity, data routes, lighting, acoustics, vertical circulation, accessible sanitary provision, plant access, maintenance zones and furniture interfaces. The exact studies depend on the building and scope, but every system that occupies space or affects another system needs an identified owner.
Compare options on the same basis
When more than one design or phasing option remains, assess each against the same axes: fit with the brief and outcomes; spatial and engineering coordination; cost-plan fit; statutory and safety requirements; programme and disruption; quality and inclusion; design responsibility and risk; operational energy and other agreed performance outcomes; commissioning and aftercare. This is a disciplined comparison method, not a published RIBA scoring formula.
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Initiate change control before the design becomes too detailed to change economically. Update the design programme and identify decisions that must be made before technical information, procurement or manufacture can proceed.
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Technical Design: complete information and ownership
Technical design turns the coordinated proposal into information that can be priced, procured, manufactured, installed, inspected and maintained. Develop the architectural and engineering design, coordinate building-systems information and integrate specialist-subcontractor systems.
Define design responsibility
For every element—such as partitions, doorsets, fire-stopping, controls, lighting, mechanical systems, electrical distribution, data infrastructure, joinery and specialist equipment—state who designs it, who checks it, what performance it must achieve and what information is required before work starts. This is particularly important where a contractor or specialist supplier develops part of the design.
Use an information release plan
- List the drawings, specifications, schedules, calculations, models, surveys and approvals needed for each procurement or construction package.
- Mark information as approved, subject to comment or outstanding.
- Record interfaces between design packages and the person responsible for resolving each one.
- Confirm the information needed for commissioning, operation, maintenance and the building manual while design is still underway.
Do not let an attractive tender price conceal incomplete design. Clarify exclusions, provisional allowances, client decisions and specialist design obligations before comparing bids.
Procurement, approvals and safety are planned work
The RIBA framework is procurement-neutral. Possible routes shown in its template include traditional tender, one-stage or two-stage design and build, management contract, construction management and contractor-led approaches. No route is automatically best. Choose by aligning design responsibility, risk allocation, programme, client control, price certainty and information maturity with the project’s needs.
Match the route to the project’s readiness
Ask how much design must be complete before a price is sought, who will coordinate specialist design, how early contractor input is needed, which risks the client can retain, and whether phased occupation or an early package is essential. Obtain project-specific legal, cost and procurement advice before appointing a route or issuing tender documents.
Plan statutory compliance in England
For building work covered by the cited England guidance, the client must make suitable arrangements to plan, manage and monitor the project so relevant building requirements are met on completion. The client must allocate enough time and resource, maintain compliance systems, cooperate with participants, provide building information and take reasonable steps to appoint designers and contractors with the necessary competence or capability. Where there is more than one designer or contractor, the guidance says the client must appoint a principal designer and principal contractor in writing. See HM Government guidance on meeting building requirements and confirm applicability with competent local advisers.
That guidance also contains additional procedures for certain higher-risk buildings. Whether an office project is affected depends on the building and work; the word “office” alone is not enough to determine applicability.
Apply CDM duties to the construction plan
Under HSE construction-planning guidance, the principal designer plans, manages, monitors and coordinates health and safety during pre-construction, while the principal contractor performs those functions during construction. The client must make suitable arrangements for managing the project. HSE says the principal contractor should be appointed early enough in pre-construction to work with the client and principal designer.
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A construction phase plan must be prepared before construction begins. It should set out health-and-safety arrangements, site rules and relevant risk controls, including how the work will be managed in an occupied or shared building where applicable.
Check whether the project is notifiable
HSE states that work is notifiable when it is expected to last more than 30 days and have more than 20 workers working at the same time at any point, or when it exceeds 500 person-days of construction work. This is a notification trigger, not a recommended project duration. Apply it to the actual project assumptions and verify the current process on HSE’s construction and building-work guidance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Manufacturing and Construction: build, inspect and commission
Before mobilisation, agree site logistics, access, deliveries, storage, welfare, security, neighbour or landlord interfaces, working hours, protection of occupied areas and emergency arrangements. The construction programme should show design releases, approvals, manufacture, installation, inspections, testing, commissioning, training and handover activities.
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RIBA notes that the Technical Design and Manufacturing and Construction stages commonly overlap. The construction stage begins when the contractor takes possession and ends at practical completion. Overlap does not remove the need for clear information ownership: late specialist design or unresolved approvals should be visible in the programme and risk register.
Control quality and change on site
- Inspect work against approved drawings, specifications, samples and performance requirements.
- Record non-conformances, responsible parties, corrective action and close-out evidence.
- Route site queries through the agreed information and change-control process.
- Track variations for their cost, programme, compliance, maintenance and performance effects.
- Witness testing and commissioning, retaining results in the handover information.
- Update record information as installed conditions change.
Commissioning is not a final-day demonstration. Plan seasonal or deferred testing where systems need different operating conditions, and provide training for the people who will operate the workplace.
Handover: transfer a usable building and complete information
Practical completion is a contractual milestone, not the end of the client’s work. RIBA’s handover outputs include a building manual containing the health and safety file and fire safety information, a practical-completion certificate with the defects list, and asset information.
Handover checklist
- Confirm the agreed practical-completion criteria and issue the certificate in accordance with the contract.
- Walk the completed space with the client and record defects, ownership, priority and target dates.
- Deliver the building manual, health and safety file, fire safety information, asset register, warranties, certificates, test results, commissioning records, record drawings and operating instructions required by the project documents.
- Demonstrate building systems, controls, alarms, lighting, ventilation, heating or cooling, access systems and other installed equipment to the responsible operators.
- Provide keys, access credentials, isolation information, maintenance schedules and emergency contacts through the agreed secure process.
- Agree the aftercare contact, escalation route, seasonal-commissioning plan and defect-resolution timetable.
- Confirm that unresolved items are documented with an owner and do not become informal promises.
The exact contractual handover requirements depend on the appointment and contract. This checklist supports coordination; it does not replace those documents.
Make aftercare part of handover
The RIBA template includes handover in line with the Plan for Use strategy, review of project performance, seasonal commissioning, defect rectification and initial aftercare, including light-touch post-occupancy evaluation. Plan these activities before occupation so the client knows who responds when a system behaves differently from the design expectation.
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Use: verify performance after occupation
The Use stage begins concurrently with construction and handover activity and continues for the building’s life. It includes facilities and asset management, post-occupancy evaluation and verification of project outcomes.
Prepare the evaluation before people move in
Use the brief’s measurable outcomes as the evaluation plan. Decide what information will be collected, by whom, at what intervals and against which baseline. Depending on the project, this may include energy and water data, comfort reports, maintenance records, waste performance, user feedback, accessibility observations, defects and the operation of controls.
Early feedback can identify training gaps or commissioning problems; later reviews can show whether the workplace supports the intended work patterns and sustainability outcomes. Record lessons while the project team and users still remember the decisions that produced them.
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The official guidance used for this framework does not establish a universal office-fit-out cost per square metre or duration. A meaningful estimate needs at least location, floor area, existing-building condition, scope, phasing, procurement strategy and the client decisions still outstanding. A figure without those assumptions can mislead the board and distort option selection.
Build the cost plan progressively. Start with option-level allowances, then update it as surveys, spatial coordination, technical information, specialist design and quotations reduce uncertainty. Keep client contingency distinct from design development, construction risk, inflation or provisional sums, and state what each allowance covers.
Programme the full life of the project: brief approval, surveys, design reviews, landlord and statutory approvals, procurement, manufacturing, site mobilisation, construction, testing, commissioning, move, training, defects and post-occupancy evaluation. If the office must remain operational, show decanting, temporary accommodation, noisy-work windows, access restrictions and phased handovers explicitly.
Government workplace guidance: use it only where it applies
The Government Workplace Design Guide sets expectations for inclusive, accessible, modern, sustainable and digitally enabled government workplaces. GOV.UK lists its latest update as 2 July 2026. It concerns the government office estate; it is not established here as a requirement for private-sector offices. A private client may use it as a reference where appropriate, but should identify the contractual or statutory source of any requirement adopted.
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- The occupied space can perform the work activities and user needs stated in the brief.
- Approved changes and derogations are recorded, priced and reflected in current information.
- Statutory, fire, safety, accessibility and building-control responsibilities have been addressed for the project’s jurisdiction.
- Commissioning results, operating instructions and training are complete for the systems the client must run.
- The building manual, health and safety file, fire safety information and asset information have been received in the agreed format.
- Defects, outstanding work and ownership are visible, with dates and escalation routes.
- Aftercare, seasonal commissioning and post-occupancy evaluation have named owners and review dates.
- The client understands which information is contractual, which is advisory and which remains subject to specialist confirmation.
Planning the fit-out this way keeps the brief, design, cost, safety, construction and operation connected. The result is not simply a completed interior, but a workplace the client can operate, maintain and evaluate against the outcomes agreed at the start.
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