Design and Build Hong Kong

The traditional 'design, then tender, then build' model splits responsibility across two contracts and two teams. Variations and delays typically happen at the seam. Design-and-build collapses both into one: one contract, one timeline, one source of truth. Artwill prepares the build scope and procurement list during the design phase, avoiding the 4 to 8 weeks lost on a separate contractor tender after design is complete.

Usually the total cost is similar or lower. You typically save the 5 to 10 percent coordination markup that separate contractors add to factor in design ambiguity. The biggest advantage of design-and-build is timeline and certainty rather than price; for equivalent quality and materials, total cost moves within ±5 percent. But the more complex the project (structural changes plus luxury imported materials), the more split tendering is prone to 15 to 25 percent budget overruns, whereas design-and-build holds the locked price.

Yes, but the benefit reduces. The model works best when one team owns design and build end-to-end. If you have a trusted contractor, we can still do design-only. If you have a designer you would like to retain, we can do project-management-only. Pricing for each is quoted per project after a free consultation. Hybrid arrangements should be discussed in the initial consultation.

After design lock, Artwill issues a single lump-sum build price. No hourly variations, no daily rates, you know the full cost before we mobilise on site. Standard 6-stage payment schedule: 10 percent on contract signing, 25 percent at site mobilisation, 25 percent at structural and M&E completion, 20 percent at joinery and stone installation, 15 percent at painting and final fixtures, 5 percent retention released after snagging closure.

For a typical 1,500 sqft Hong Kong residential project: traditional sequential model (design 8 weeks, contractor tender 4 weeks, build 24 weeks, snagging 2 weeks = 38 weeks total). Design-and-build (design 10 weeks with procurement prep in parallel, then build 22 weeks, snagging 2 weeks = 32 weeks total). Real savings 4 to 6 weeks. For commercial office fit-outs where landlord rent-free periods are pressure-on-clock, the timeline advantage is even more valuable.

Artwill's design-and-build contracts include explicit variation clauses. Client-requested changes (switching to more expensive stone mid-build, adding a smart-home module) are quoted per item from a pre-agreed schedule of rates and signed off before work. Non-client-requested changes (discovered structural issues, M&E worse than expected) are quoted by us under the schedule of rates; anything exceeding 5 percent of contract value requires client approval. Typical total variation runs 5 to 10 percent of contract value; above 15 percent indicates insufficient design definition at lock, which we flag for re-optimization before contract signing.