Preliminary Design is the first of Studio Gascoigne’s five stages, and it’s where a client’s brief gets tested against reality before a single wall goes on paper. We take what you’ve told us: the goals for the space, the site itself, the budget you’re working to, and turn it into an honest read of what’s achievable and a first direction for the design to follow. Nothing here is locked in yet. It’s the groundwork that everything else in our five-stage design process builds on.
What you bring, and what we do with it
At this point you’ll have given us a brief covering what the space needs to do, who it’s for, and how it should feel, along with whatever site information exists (lease plans, building drawings, a site visit) and a sense of your budget range. That’s enough for us to start. Because our team is multi-disciplinary, registered architects, interior and retail designers, and technicians all read the brief together from day one. That matters here specifically: a lot of studios split architectural feasibility from interior thinking and hand the project between departments. We don’t. Structural constraints, services, and spatial opportunity get considered alongside the interior concept from the very first meeting, so the direction we hand back to you is grounded in what’s buildable, not just what looks good on paper.
What comes out of Preliminary Design
By the end of this stage you’ll have an initial design direction: early space planning, rough zoning, first concept sketches, plus our read on feasibility against your budget and site constraints. It’s deliberately loose. The point isn’t a finished design; it’s a credible starting point you can react to. Some clients see it and want to push straight ahead. Others want to adjust the brief, the budget, or the ambition before committing further. Either way, that’s the decision this stage exists to produce: a clear green light into Concept Design, or a revised brief we work through again before moving on.
If you’re not sure Preliminary Design is where your project should start, our full range of services covers everything from first brief through to completed fit-out, and Mark Gascoigne’s team can talk you through where you actually sit.