Master Planning

Master planning for building services

Get your building services right from the start

We specialise in master planning building services for large developments. Our master plans guide your architects and engineers, so they allocate the right space for building services plant, pipes, cables, and ducting.

“Honoris are always friendly to deal with and clear communicators. I've always had the sense they’re big believers in this project, and keen to see it through. So, it's great having them involved from start to end. Honoris have so much embedded knowledge of this project that it's especially helpful for us to keep that IP within our team for the whole project.”

Daniel Brown, Energy Manager, Lincoln University

Master plan your building services for a smoother build

We can help. We’ll understand your needs, research your options, present pros and cons, and rank them against your goals.

Master planning for major developments is often done by architects. They do a wonderful job considering the flow, purpose and aesthetics of space. But when it comes to building services, they lack expertise and tend to underestimate the space required.

Calculating rental revenue before you know how much space you need for building services can make a project less financially viable. Large developments of 100,000 m2 may need as much as 15,000 m2 for plant. You need to know that as early as possible.

Nail the most expensive part of your build

When you master plan building services before you start architectural design, your design and build go more smoothly. You’re not tweaking plans to accommodate services or resolving problems at the last minute onsite.

Building services can cost as much as 30-40% of your project budget, making them the most expensive part of your build. So, when they’re given the priority they deserve, you get a more effective, efficient solution, reducing your ongoing operating costs and environmental impact.

Get us involved at master planning stage

We’ll provide you and other design team members the info you need to make informed decisions about your building services right from the start.

This helps make your design process smoother, more efficient, and cost effective.

You get more efficient building service solutions. This can mean substantial savings, as services can be 30-40% of a building project costs.

You get a more accurate understanding of your available floor space for rent revenue from the start.

Our Safety in Design practices mean you’re not exposing contractors or tenants to risk installing, operating, and maintaining building services.

You save energy, reducing your building’s operating costs and carbon footprint.

A feasibility study also gives you detailed information to take to your quantity surveyor, so they can prepare accurate budgets to help you decide.

“Honoris are a small team, but they're committed to providing you the expertise you need, they're passionate about what they're doing, and they’re keen, which has worked well for us.”

Stuart Taylor, Lincoln University Decarbonisation Project Lead, OCTA Project Management

The master planning process

Master planning moves through three stages.

Initial design team meetings

We meet with your architect to discuss their vision for the development and get an idea of the floor areas they’re planning for the different types of space.
Building services report and recommendations
Once we’ve a rough understanding of your architect’s plan for the space, we do the following:
- Estimate the loads needed for your services. How much power, water, and drainage capacity will you need on a square metre basis.
- Use that info to check the capacity of services around your site, including water and power supplies, and drainage.
- Look at how all the parts of the development interact, from power and lighting to ICT and security, so everything works together efficiently.
- Identify efficient locations to put plant rooms to service your spaces.
- Give informed ideas on how to service the space so your architects can start making the right allowances for ceiling voids and risers.
- Estimate accurately how much space building services require.
We provide you with a report with allowances for building services and recommendations for zones for building plant. This allows your architects to make accurate allowances for building services in concept designs.
Checking in with the design team

Once we’ve made our recommendations we check in with your architects, structural and civil engineers, and quantity surveyor to make sure everyone's on the same page when it comes to building services. This makes the design process as smooth as possible and more economic for you.

Our fees for master planning projects

Master planning is for large projects with budgets of 50 to 100 million dollars.

Every master plan is unique, so we quote on a case-by-case basis. However, master planning typically costs from $20,000 - $25,000 + GST.

Request a quote

Master planning FAQs

Why should we spend money on master planning building services? It’s just another master planning cost. We might not proceed with this project if it’s not economically viable, so I want to spend as little as possible at this stage.

We get it. But if you don’t invest in master planning building services, you won't know whether your project is economically viable.

If you don't make proper allowance for building services, you may go to concept design thinking you've a viable project, yet the floor area you have to lease may not be large enough to give you the returns you need. There’s real value in knowing that info early on, when your outlay is the smallest it's ever going to be.

Master planning your building services typically costs from $20,000 + GST. But by the time you get to the end of concept design, you’ll have spent 15% of your design fee, which can be hundreds of thousands of dollars on a big project. That’s a bad time to find out your project isn’t financially viable, but it happens all the time.

So, spend an extra 20 grand master planning your building services to save yourself flushing hundreds of thousands of dollars down the drain.
Does your report give any idea how much we need to spend on services?

The report doesn't, but we do provide info to your quantity surveyor on the type of plant equipment we recommend. At this master planning stage your QS will estimate building services in dollars per square metre, so it's a very high level cost. But because we give them info to work with, their price is more informed, and more accurate from the start.

“We’re building surveyors, so we look at the fabric of the building. And Steve and his team are the building services experts. Services are usually the expensive bit of a building. If they go wrong, it costs you lots. So, our clients need that expert services advice to make sure they’re getting value for money.”

Rory Crosbie, South Island Regional Manager, Prendos