Design and build for a financial services institution's Parisian home

Following a successful tender process, Agilité was awarded the design and build contract – which came with a very clear timeline and handover date – as the client needed to be out of an existing space by 1 August 2022.

What’s more, to ensure consistency with existing offices throughout France, the client requested particular materials and finishes, handing tender and procurement responsibility to Agilité – with every subcontractor chosen from a shortlist of three, after Agilité had gathered and compared quotes, as well as making its own recommendation.

Following the design and preconstruction work, we took a site which was already an office – complete with partitions, flooring, and ceilings – and stripped it back to a completely empty box. Construction then began on a boardroom big enough to house 34 people, as well as a break room, a smaller six-person conference room, five management offices, and a large communal workspace.

Aside from the furniture, all elements of the final space were completed or managed by Agilité, including all relevant permissions and permitting, move management, and technology connections – including IT, Wi-Fi, and audio-visual devices.

Due to wider issues across the globe, supply chain was challenging, but a robust build schedule and a visible lead-time against all materials meant the deadlines were possible – provided we made decisions 50 days in advance.

The client was incredibly accommodating, and we maintained a submittal and procurement log, which tracked the approvals, ordering, and delivery of everything needed for the project. This, coupled with maximizing the use of PROCORE helped to keep the delivery up to date, and the client informed.

Given Agilité’s all-encompassing role on the project, designers and engineers had weekly meetings with the client, to ensure the finishes were correct and the client was happy – and this open dialogue meant conversations around last-minute changes/requests were earlier to have.

For example, changes to the joinery, coupled with the wider issues in the world meant that joinery arrives one month late – and we had to return to site to complete certain elements of the build. By agreeing days when we could have exclusive access to the boardroom/break rooms, the client could communicate to colleagues the potential for disruption, in order to allow us to finish the build.

It was a very fast-paced project, but Agilité and the client were both incredibly flexible to ensure the project completed on time, and to the standard expected. What’s more, as well as meeting the deadlines, Agilité acted on behalf of the client when it came to health and safety and building control regulations – as they didn’t have any representation in France.

Under our appointment, we made sure the delivery was compliant and had the required conversations on behalf of the client.