ARQOVIA ATELIER
Our approach
Seven stages from the first conversation to handover, each approved before the next begins, with a clear line between design and execution.
Every project moves through the same seven stages. Design is the first five. Execution and coordination on site is the sixth, and it is part of a project only when it is agreed in writing. The last stage, review and handover, closes both kinds of appointment.
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Initial consultation
A first conversation about the plot or the space, what you need, how you live or work and what is realistic. We listen more than we present, and we tell you plainly whether the project suits the studio and what an appointment would cover.
Design -
Understanding requirements
A written brief: the rooms and functions, the people who will use the space, the constraints of the site or the shell, the regulations that apply and the budget range you are working within. The brief is agreed before design starts, so every later decision can be checked against it.
Design -
Concept development
Sketches, plans and views that test the brief against the site: massing and orientation for a building, layout and circulation for an interior. We present options with their trade-offs, and you choose the direction before anything is developed further.
Design -
Design and drawing approvals
The chosen concept is developed into plans, sections, elevations and details, reviewed with you and signed off stage by stage. Nothing is ordered or built from a drawing you have not approved, and the approved set becomes the reference for everything that follows.
Design -
Material and finish selection
Stone, timber, tile, paint, hardware and lighting are chosen together, with samples in hand and in the space where possible, and recorded in a finish schedule with sizes, locations and edges. The schedule is what the site builds from.
Design -
Execution and coordination
Where execution is part of the agreed scope, the studio coordinates the trades on site against the approved drawings: sequencing the work, checking it at each stage, managing material approvals as the site progresses and remaining your single point of contact throughout.
Execution — where included in the scope -
Review and handover
A walk-through against the drawings, a snag list closed before handover, and the documents you need to maintain the space. For a design-only appointment, the handover is the complete drawing set and the finish schedule, ready for your own contractor to build from.
Design & execution
Design only, or design and execution
A design-only appointment covers stages one to five and ends with a complete set of drawings, specifications and the finish schedule. Your own contractor builds from them; the studio can be retained separately to review the work against the drawings.
A design and execution appointment adds stage six: the studio coordinates the construction or fit-out on site, sequencing the trades, checking the work against the drawings and managing material approvals with you as the site progresses.
Execution is included only when it is agreed in writing. The scope, stages and terms of each project are set out in its agreement before work begins.