“I've been handed the office relocation, but I have no idea how to get started….”

Have you just been put in charge of your company's headquarters relocation or a design renewal project? Once you become the PM (Project Manager) responsible for the office space, there is no shortage of things to keep in mind. Space planning, budget, schedule, the needs of your team members, and more. When it comes time to actually begin, it can feel overwhelming to know where to even start.

What is the first step in office design? It is writing an RFP (Request for Proposal). This is the preliminary stage before you reach out to an interior design firm about your project. Everything you need to share to get a project started is contained in the RFP. A well-written RFP makes the entire design and construction process that follows faster and easier. If you're wondering how to begin an interior project, take a look at the RFP guide we're about to walk you through.

[Preview] How Does an Office Interior Project Unfold?

(Top) Floor plan (Bottom) 3D top view

3D design proposal

(Top) Construction site photo (Bottom) Completion photo

First, to write a strong RFP, you need to understand the full process of an office design project. At SPACEBASE, an office interior project unfolds in the following six stages.

<table><tbody><tr><td>① Project Inquiry</td><td colspan="2">You prepare the necessary materials and reach out to an interior design firm about your project.</td></tr><tr><td>② Consultation</td><td colspan="2">Details that are hard to convey in writing are sorted out through a consultation, and you set the direction of the project together.</td></tr><tr><td>③ Design · Engineering</td><td colspan="2">This is where the spatial concept planning, drawings and engineering, 3D design proposals, and finishing material proposals take shape.</td></tr><tr><td>④ Construction Start</td><td colspan="2">After the contract is signed, construction proceeds based on the final drawings, 3D design proposal, quote, and construction schedule.</td></tr><tr><td>⑤ Completion</td><td colspan="2">The space is finished as details such as finishing materials, electrical layout, furniture, and signage are coordinated on site.</td></tr><tr><td>⑥ Completion Meeting</td><td colspan="2">After construction is complete, an on-site meeting with the client checks whether any additional items need to be addressed. The team also hands over instructions on how to use the newly installed equipment on site.</td></tr></tbody></table>

As you can see, an office interior project is a complex process made up of many stages. To set the right direction from the start and move through every step with ease, a carefully written RFP matters more than anything.

Where Office Design Begins: What Is an RFP?

Image source: Unsplash

So what exactly is an RFP? An RFP (Request for Proposal) is the key document you need when commissioning an office interior project. It is the material you hand to an interior design firm, laying out everything the project requires such as the schedule, budget, the space configuration you want, and the design direction. Through this document, you can communicate effectively with the interior design firm. When the contents of the RFP are well organized, the firm can put together a proposal that fits your project precisely. Conversely, if the information is insufficient, you'll receive a proposal that doesn't match the nature of your project. In that case, both the client and the interior design firm end up wasting unnecessary time and manpower.

Budget, in particular, is one of the most important items in an RFP. Because the contents of a proposal can vary widely depending on the budget, it's a good idea to define your budget range internally in advance. If setting a budget feels difficult, working out a budget guide together with the interior design firm over a phone consultation is another good approach.

Why Does the RFP Matter When You Reach Out About a Project?

3D design proposal

An actual completion photo. The RFP matters precisely because it helps you achieve a consistent result, from the proposal all the way to the finished space.

✔ It sets the direction of the project

If the company's needs and direction aren't clear, the project can feel slow to move forward even after many meetings with the interior design firm. The process of writing an RFP becomes an opportunity to organize internally the elements your project requires. In doing so, the direction of the project also becomes clearer. When the core direction of the office design is clear from the start, you can stay grounded later on, even amid the varied opinions of many stakeholders.

✔ It supports efficient communication

When you convey requirements separately to each interior design firm and at each stage, communication takes a lot of energy and the details easily become muddled. As a result, important points can be left out of proposals, or it can become hard to compare proposals across firms. To receive high-quality proposals, you need a clear RFP from the very start. Across the long journey of collaboration, the RFP serves as an important communication tool for sharing the contents of the project.

✔ It becomes a checklist for reviewing progress

Once office design and construction get fully underway, all kinds of decisions begin to pile up. At this point, the RFP becomes a checklist you can use to review the whole process and confirm that everything is progressing without anything being missed. The more an interior project has multiple departments and partner companies working in parallel, the more important it is for everyone involved to share the same information. The RFP is an essential tool for making sure nothing slips through the cracks and that the project is moving forward as planned.

How to Write an RFP That Anyone Can Follow With Ease

A well-organized RFP like this makes the entire project run smoothly. So how should you go about writing one? If you work through it step by step in the order below, anyone can get started without much difficulty.

Set the budget and schedule To frame the big picture of the project, the very first thing to organize is the budget and schedule. Knowing in advance roughly what budget you're considering, and when construction needs to start and when you need to move in, lets you receive more realistic design and quote proposals.
Organize the space configuration Map out which spaces you need and how much of each, such as workstations, meeting rooms, executive offices, and lounges. It also helps to consider the number of seats, the organizational structure, and how meetings are run. Because this becomes the foundation of the floor plan, an unclear space configuration risks frequent design changes and reporting.
Identify the options you need Do you hold video calls often? How strong does the soundproofing need to be? Since every company works differently, you need to specifically lay out the elements your organization requires in its workflow before they can be reflected in the space. The more detailed the work-related options you share in advance, the more comfortable an office you can build, and the shorter the construction period becomes.
Convey images of the space you want Reference images of the office space you have in mind are a great help for sharing and aligning on direction. If you don't have reference images, you can also share the company's branding materials, the age range of your team, your organizational culture, and so on. The more information the designer has to draw on about your company, the higher your satisfaction with the result.
Required attachments: floor plan, logo, building construction guidelines The floor plan of the place you're moving to, the company logo, and the building's construction management guidelines are documents that must be attached to the RFP. When these materials are shared together, you can cut down on unnecessary back-and-forth with the interior design firm.

If it still feels difficult, take a look at the resource below as well. It's the RFP guide document that SPACEBASE actually uses when communicating with clients. You'll be able to see at a glance which elements you need to organize when first commissioning a project.

👉 Download the SPACEBASE RFP guide for free

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Even office interiors, which may feel unfamiliar, will become much easier once you've written an RFP. A systematically organized RFP is a great help in steering a long, complex office project in an easy and efficient way.

Office design is an important project that brings a company's identity and vision into a physical space, which is why it requires a process of aligning the varied opinions of internal team members. The RFP is the document that captures what kind of space your organization wants and what functions it needs, giving concrete shape to the direction of the project. The RFP also helps you choose a good partner, because it provides the criteria for comparing and analyzing the different proposals from each interior design firm. By filling your RFP with specific information, you can communicate efficiently with interior design firms and achieve a result you're truly satisfied with.

We hope the 'how to write an RFP' covered here serves as a useful first step in preparing your office interior. In the next installment, we'll guide you through how to choose an interior design firm.

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*Photos and design provided by the SPACEBASE team