Insights · Before It Is Built
Design decisions that become operating costs
Many operating problems are born on the plan. By the time the asset opens, the cost is already built in.
Where cost hides in a design
- A kitchen far from the restaurant it serves, which adds staff and slows service.
- Storage that is too small, which forces daily deliveries and causes stock losses.
- A reception that cannot see the entrance, which needs an extra person on every shift.
- Back-of-house routes that cross guest areas, which create friction and more cleaning.
- A Clubhouse whose spaces cannot be closed separately, which must be heated, lit and staffed as a whole.
Bring operation in before the design is fixed
The cheapest moment to correct these decisions is before construction drawings. An operational brief, written from the owner’s strategy, tells the design team how the asset will make money and how it will be run: the flows, the staffing model, the income each space must earn and the cost it may carry.
Working with the architect, never in their place
Operational review does not replace design or limit it. It gives the design team information they rarely receive early enough, so that the asset is attractive on opening day and efficient for the whole of its life.
Good design still works ten years after opening day.