Assembling the best teams to manage expectations and deliver luxury

It takes teamwork and more than 40 years of experience to deliver multi-million-pound projects for some of the world’s wealthiest and most demanding clients – they expect the best, they want it now – and they know exactly what they want.

Delivering the wow factor for the wealthy means managing expectations by ensuring that you have all the necessary specialists to cater for every demand - but even with the right team in place, time is always the overriding factor – a potential problem, with most high-end clients understandably wanting to move in as soon as possible.

Teamwork makes the dream work

It can mean - and it is not always easy to explain this to demanding customers - that complicated high-end projects can take around two years to complete. It may take up to six months or more just to receive planning permission and listed buildings can take longer, even with specialist help. Then there’s often a Licence to Alter to be negotiated with the freeholder or ‘Great Estate’, and that’s before you start choosing finishes, contractors and so much more.

As architects specialising in high-end refurbishment and new build projects, we will usually take the design lead, but it is always a team effort, which could consist of 12 or more equally talented construction professionals, consultants and other specialist designers at the front end. We ensure everyone works together on the same 3D BIM model to ensure consistency.

A good team sings from the same BIM sheet!

We bring a wide range of skills to the table, from experienced consultants and designers for swimming pools, ice rinks, spas and gymnasiums, to cost consultants, engineers, surveying teams and specialist heritage experts – and the common factor for all those involved is their ability to consistently deliver quality and luxury.

So, what is luxury? For some, it might mean us organising a private exhibition of designs, samples and mock-ups for a client who wishes to inspect and approve all elements of their project in the one single day they have available. In fact, ‘luxury’ more often than not boils down to time - and time saved specifically.

The definition of luxury is often the attention to detail

But material luxuries are luxuries nonetheless and, while private swimming pools, saunas, gymnasiums and cinema rooms have been standard for many years, the latest must-have accessory for the wealthy man or woman about town is, for the moment, a simulated golf range.

A golf simulator is a high-tech system that enables individuals to practise thier golf indoors at home in a virtually-simulated golf environment. It is a computerised golf setup, designed to mimic the real game, helping users to analyse their swing, understand their weaknesses and improve their game, without having to take the time to venture out to the local course.

Improving your handicap shouldn’t be an issue with enough imagination

Golf simulators unsurprisingly take up a lot of floor space so the skill of course is to ensure that they are designed to complement every part of the design: to be there when needed and to disappear when not.

But it does not stop there.

After finishing a tough round of virtual golf, the next must-have feature is a simple meditation room, allowing stressed executives the opportunity to unwind and sink into a relaxed state of mind, leaving them refreshed and ready to take on their next challenge.

A retreat from the pressures of everyday living is increasingly vital

That is just a flavour of what you get when you are able to demand – and can afford – the exceptional. And this is what Lees Associates deliver every day of the week to our clients all over the world: exactly what they want, to the highest quality, in the shortest possible timeframe. What could be more luxurious than that?