A project doesn't end when the design is done. In fact, the time when the most decisions pile up often begins after that. The moment you first step onto the site, the space stops being lines on a drawing and turns, one by one, into something real with actual dimensions and heights. As each wall goes up, the ceiling structure takes shape, and a finish sample sits under real light, the designers repeat the work of closing the gap between drawing and reality. What the drawing never showed reveals itself there. In this piece, we follow what happens on site, from the start of construction through to completion.

Once a design is finalized, a project can look more or less wrapped up. But for the designers, that is when another stretch of time begins.

When construction begins on site, the space gradually takes form, shifting from an image on a drawing into a real space. Walls rise, the ceiling structure is set, and lighting and finishing materials find their places one by one. Throughout this process, the designers visit the site often. They check whether the drawing matches the actual dimensions, and adjust details together with the construction team.

To keep situations that couldn't be seen on the drawing from arising, the SPACEBASE design team makes a point of accounting for and planning around tolerances of even 2 mm or less during design. Finishing material meetings are held first with the client and at the office, then a second round on site, to confirm there are no discrepancies with how the space actually feels in place.

WEEK 1 — The bones of the space are set up: Demolition & Structural Work

The first week of construction brings no dramatic visible change. After one or two days of demolition, work begins on building the infrastructure inside the space, with the lead workers of the major trades — electrical, fire safety, telecommunications, mechanical, and so on, the systems hidden inside the walls — going first. If there is an existing space, the work starts with demolition. The ceiling material is stripped out, unnecessary walls are torn down, and the floor is taken up. After demolition, parts of the building or issues that weren't visible before sometimes come to light. Piping above the ceiling often differs from the architectural drawings, so the lighting design for areas planned as an exposed ceiling sometimes has to be changed.

"Then I think we'll need to adjust the lighting plan a little for this spot." It's a 50 mm difference. But when the position of a light shifts, the mood shifts, and when the mood shifts, it can drift away from the design intent. That is why rechecking dimensions at this stage is no small matter. The first week of construction is the time to read the space precisely again, before building it up.

WEEK 2 — Walls on the drawing become real walls: Walls & Circulation

Once the walls start going up, the space changes rapidly. A floor that looked all but empty until yesterday is divided today into a space with defined sections. As layers build up in the space and more of it catches the eye, the space comes to feel wider by being filled. Circulation that looked fine on the drawing can feel different once the real walls are standing, and in such cases we work through it by referring to completed projects and predicting based on the dimensions and the feel of the space at the time. That is why interior design is a profession that requires a great deal of experiential data.

Just as each individual's body size differs, a space must not be interpreted by one person's standards. The reason SPACEBASE always memorizes standard human body dimensions is to design a space so that many people can use it without discomfort.

WEEK 3 — Samples must be seen again on site: Finishing Material Check & Adjustment

Color looks different depending on the time of day, the weather, and the lighting. So we set our standard as the most ordinary day, one spent long in the space, and check finishing colors during the daytime when it isn't raining. We even account in advance, at the design stage, for the effect of light shaped by the four cardinal directions and the surrounding buildings.

WEEK 4 — Construction isn't done alone: Coordinating with Partners

The SPACEBASE team isn't the only one on site. Several teams move together — the carpentry team, the electrical team, the mechanical team, the furniture installation team, and more. Each handles a different process and keeps its own schedule. When these people have to work in the same space at the same time, coordination becomes necessary.

Because the work of several teams is divided over the same area, the SPACEBASE site manager oversees the entire work schedule. They coordinate the sequence and timing of various processes — whether the lighting wiring or the fire-safety piping comes first, and by when the wiring and piping work in a given area must be finished so the carpentry team can be brought in. This kind of process management ultimately determines the quality of the space and the completion date. Clearly setting the order of the processes to reduce confusion on site is tied to raising the level of detail in the finishing, and it is an important part of delivering the best possible result within the promised deadline.

Once the site is underway, the designer takes on the role of conveying the design intent accurately to the site manager. This is also why SPACEBASE carries out design and construction together — to move toward the same goal as a single team. If design and construction were handled by separate companies, there's a strong chance that at the construction stage the work would lean more toward quotes and costs than toward the design intent.

WEEK 5 — The final moment a space is completed: Finishing & Completion

The last stage of construction changes the mood faster than you might expect. From the moment the furniture comes in and the lights turn on, the space begins to feel 'complete.' It's because, for the first time, a space seen for weeks only amid dust and materials looks 'like a space.' Even then, the designer and the site manager walk through it together right away and begin checking.

"This light feels a bit stronger than expected; let's try adjusting the dimming." "The furniture is set a little differently from the drawing. Let's push this side another 20 cm." They're subtle adjustments. But these final adjustments determine the level of completeness of the space in the finished photographs. The moment a space is completed isn't the day the drawing comes out, but that final moment when the lights first turn on and the furniture settles into place.

A space is completed on site

A single space is made as the result of countless choices and adjustments. The questions that began at the design stage carry on at the site, and even the smallest detail piles up to create the completeness of the space.

SPACEBASE designers don't stop at drawing plans; they check and coordinate in person on site, staying with it to the end so the space can be realized as the design intended. Through this piece, we hope you can look a little more closely at the process by which a space is actually completed.

*Photos and design provided by SPACEBASE

If you'd like to think through the process from the design stage all the way to actual construction together, work with SPACEBASE.

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