Office fit-out in Geneva
Planning building work? Apartment, house or building renovation, a new storey or a roof extension, running the project is our job.
HMG Construction Management SA runs the fit-out of your offices in Geneva, from the first layout to the day your staff move in. The firm draws up the plans, files the permit application as an agent registered on the Geneva MPQ list (mandataires professionnellement qualifiés, the cantonal register of qualified building professionals), works out the cost, appoints the contractors and manages the works to SIA standards, working towards the agreed move-in date.
How do you get your office fit-out done without the worry? By handing the management and the coordination of the contractors to HMG. HMG is there for you.
How do you prepare an office fit-out?
Whether it is a new office fit-out or the refurbishment of premises already in use, the project starts from how the space will be used. The number of desks, the proportion of meeting rooms, enclosed and open areas, the reception, the server room and storage make up the brief. The brief is then tested against the premises, their structure, their service risers and their escape routes.
If you are a tenant, the lease and the consent of the owner or of the régie, the property management agency, define what you may alter and what must be reinstated when you leave. These points are cleared up before the drawings, because they can weigh heavily on the budget.
Do you need a permit to fit out offices in Geneva?
Building permits are issued by the Office des autorisations de construire (OAC), the cantonal building permit office. According to the official page on permit types, interior changes to an existing building fall under the fast-track procedure, called APA, as do works that do not alter its general appearance. Projects outside that scope need a full application, called DD (demande définitive). The file is submitted online on the AC-Démat platform, as described on the page about filing an application.
Where the premises were not offices before, a change of use comes into play, and our page on building conversion and change of use deals with it. If the floor space concerned is housing in a residential building, the LDTR, the Geneva law on demolition, conversion and renovation of housing, governs the works.
In an older building, a check for asbestos, PCB and lead comes before partitions, suspended ceilings and floor coverings are stripped out. The Canton of Geneva covers the subject on its page Rénover, transformer ou démolir sans danger (in French). All the procedures are set out in our guide to building permits and procedures in Geneva.
Who do you call first?
A company fitting out its premises can organise the project in two ways.
- You want a single point of contact. HMG surveys the premises, draws up the layout plans, files the permit application, prices the works, appoints the contractors and manages the site until you move in.
- An architect or interior designer has already designed your space. They keep the design and obtain the permit. HMG takes over for tendering and construction, working alongside them.
Either way, your management has one contact for the budget, the timetable and the decisions that come up during the works.
How HMG manages your office fit-out
In offices, building services often matter more than partitions. Ventilation, heating and cooling, power, lighting, data cabling, fire protection and acoustics all have to agree with the layout. HMG coordinates these packages on drawings before work starts, so that a partition does not cut across a ventilation outlet and a meeting room gets the air and the sockets it needs.
The firm prices the fit-out by trade, runs the tenders, compares the bids item by item and recommends the contractors. On site, the usual sequence runs from strip-out to building services, then partitions, suspended ceilings, decoration, floor coverings and finally fixed furniture. HMG chairs the site meetings, follows the testing of the installations and verifies every invoice before payment.
When your staff stay in the premises, the works are carried out zone by zone or outside office hours, and disruption is announced in advance.
Usual steps and timing
- Brief, survey of the premises and review of the lease.
- Layout plans and cost estimate by trade.
- Consent of the owner or the régie and, where needed, permit application.
- Tenders, comparison of bids and contracts with the contractors.
- Strip-out, building services, partitions and suspended ceilings.
- Decoration, floors, lighting and fixed furniture.
- Testing of the installations, acceptance of the works and move-in.
The duration depends on the floor area, the state of the existing installations and the permit procedure. HMG builds the schedule backwards from your move-in date and tells you at the outset whether it can be met.
Offices and business premises managed by HMG
Frequently asked questions
Can offices be refurbished while the business keeps running?
Yes, in many cases. The site is then split into zones, and noisy works are placed outside office hours. HMG agrees this phasing with you before tendering, because it affects prices and duration.
How much does an office fit-out cost in Geneva?
Three things make up the price, namely the floor area, the condition of the existing building services and the level of finish you want. HMG prices the layout plan by trade, then adjusts the budget to the contractors' bids. Working zone by zone or outside office hours also enters the calculation.
Who asks the owner for consent?
The tenant remains the party to the lease and presents the project to the owner or the régie. HMG prepares the plans and the description of works that go with the request, and answers the technical questions.
Do you need a permit to move partitions?
Interior changes to an existing building fall under the fast-track APA procedure according to the official permit types page of the Canton of Geneva. HMG checks for each project whether an application is needed, and files it where one is required.
Related guides and pages
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