Interventions in building transformation

Case 1 — Office to hotel conversion

Situation
A centrally located office building was acquired for hotel conversion.
The feasibility study showed strong returns.

What everyone missed
The column grid and concrete slabs constrained room layouts beyond acceptable tolerances.
Operational assumptions depended on perfect occupancy.

Our intervention
A Decision Check before design development.

Outcome
The project was paused before design investment.
Eventually capital was redeployed to a more suitable asset, building was sold as it was an office.

Case 2 — Long-Stay Housing Project

Situation
A mixed-use redevelopment proposed long-stay housing above a commercial plinth.
Initial feasibility suggested the regulatory framework was favourable.

What everyone missed
Early diagrams revealed that the building did not comply — not only physically, but ultimately also with zoning regulations.
What first appeared as regulatory flexibility turned out to be a structural constraint.

Our intervention
Proof of Decision through layout stress-testing against regulatory and zoning requirements.

Outcome
The programme was redefined before permit submission.
Approval was obtained in the shortest possible timeframe, significantly reducing financial exposure as the building had already been acquired.

Case 3 — Monumental building to care facility transformation

Situation
An existing monumental estate building was adapted for use as an elderly care facility.

What everyone missed
Small but frequent level differences throughout the building disrupted daily routing.
This created unacceptable staff workload and resident stress — risks that were invisible in drawings but decisive in daily operation.

Our intervention
A Commitment Point to redefine which uncertainties were acceptable and which were not.

Outcome
The project proceeded at a revised scale with a fundamentally different operational model.
The facility was repositioned as a dementia care facility, aligning the client profile with the building rather than forcing the building to fit the programme.

This resulted in a viable and successful business case.

What these cases have in common

None of these projects failed.
They stopped failing early.