How Is an Office Relocation Timeline Planned Alongside the Design?

Why is the office relocation timeline set up together with the design?

A company usually sets the date it will move to a new office based on the lease agreement; but if the design and execution process is not calculated backward from that date, the move-in day arrives before the office is finished, and the company either moves into an unfinished space or has to pay extra rent.

Office relocation planning is therefore built backward from the target move-in date, not forward from the lease start.

How is the timeline built backward?

The table below shows how far in advance each step starts, counted backward from the move-in date (step durations vary by project; the order is illustrated here).

Does this timeline get shorter in a small office?

Yes, execution time shortens as the square meters decrease; but the step order does not change. Even in a small office, if fabrication starts before design approval, a change request later causes material waste and delay.

We covered how office size reflects on cost in our office design cost article.

Why should the move-in day be set early?

If the move-in date is clarified at the very start, the design and execution team builds a timeline around it; if the date changes a few weeks before the move, the remaining time is usually not enough to fit in fabrication and installation.

Umut GÜRLER is an interior architect and a graduate of Çankaya University Interior Architecture; he has worked since 2009 (more than 17 years) on villa, apartment, office and clinic interiors in Ankara, and his office is in Cepa Ofis Kule. The example in this article comes from an office project he has completed.