Six clearly defined stages, each with its own deliverables, timelines, and protective purpose. Every stage exists to put you in a position of strength.
what we offer
Full service, from concept to keys.
One architect.
End to end.
Many foreigners building in Thailand discover, often painfully, that the work falls into the gaps between specialists. The architect hands off to the builder. The builder hands off to the engineer. The lawyer is not in the loop on the design. The client is left holding the consequences when something goes wrong.
Our service is structured to remove those gaps. The same architect who walks your land also writes the construction documentation, manages the permit process, runs the tender, and supervises the build on site. Every stage informs the next. Nothing is dropped in the handoff because there is no handoff.
Services can be engaged individually. For example, if you have an architect already and need only site supervision, or if you have completed drawings and need a tender process. Many clients do prefer the benefits and accountability of engaging the full service from stage one.
Each stage is designed to move your project forward clearly, so you understand what is happening, why it matters, and what you receive at every step.
How it works
How the process works in practice
01
Land assessment
Typical Duration
1-2 Weeks
Engaged
Ideally Before Purchase
Most expensive mistakes in Thai villa builds are decided before construction begins, like investing in the wrong land, bought on the wrong assumptions.
A land assessment is a walk of the site with you, an honest reading of what the land can and cannot support, and a clear written summary of the constraints. We look at topography, soil indications, drainage and water flow, access and road quality, neighbouring development, sightlines, orientation for the climate, electricity and water availability, and the zoning and legal constraints that apply to the plot.
The output is a written report you can use to make the purchase decision — or to renegotiate the price knowing what the land actually is, rather than what the agent is telling you it is.
This is the cheapest stage of your project and almost always the highest-leverage one. The cost of a land assessment is recovered many times over by the projects we have helped clients walk away from.
DELIVERABLES
- Site visit with the client (where possible) or detailed remote review
- Written land assessment report
- Topographical and orientation analysis
- Identified buildability constraints and opportunities
- Preliminary feasibility view on the intended brief
- Recommendation: proceed, renegotiate, or walk away
02
Concept design
Typical Duration
6-10 Weeks
OUTPUT
Approved design concept package
Where your brief, the land, and architectural judgement come together to form a design you can commit to.
We start with conversations. What kind of life is the building for? Who lives there, who visits, who works there? What is the realistic budget, and where is there room to invest more or pull back? What is non-negotiable and what is open?
From there we develop the design through plans, elevations, sections, and 3D visualisations — refined through several rounds of feedback with you until the design genuinely fits both the land and the way you intend to live in it. By the end of this stage you have an approved concept package that anyone you bring in afterwards — engineers, builders, lenders — can work from confidently.
Concept design is also where most of the cost-control work happens. Decisions made here are far cheaper to revise than decisions made later. We treat this stage as the time to test every assumption.
DELIVERABLES
- Floor plans, elevations & sections
- Basic 3D renders & design narrative
- Up to 3 rounds of revisions
- Schematic plans
- Design brief sign-off
- Approved design concept package
03
Construction drawings
Typical Duration
8-14 Weeks
Output
Full technical package
The drawings are the contract. The quality of these documents determines almost everything that happens afterwards.
A complete construction drawing set is a precise, fully dimensioned, fully specified description of what is to be built. Every wall, every opening, every floor finish, every junction, every electrical point, every plumbing run. This is the document that the builder prices against, that the engineer signs off on, that the permit office reviews, and that we hold the build to during supervision.
Many of the worst outcomes in Thai construction trace back to thin drawings — permit-minimum packages that leave hundreds of decisions to be made on site, by people whose interests do not always align with yours. Comprehensive drawings cost more to produce. They save many times that in the build.
DELIVERABLES
- Full set of 2D construction drawings, fully dimensioned in pdf
- Coordinated structural, electrical, plumbing layouts
- Material and finish schedules
- Door, window, and joinery schedules
- Detail drawings for non-standard junctions
- Drawing register and revision control
04
Permit/
approvals
Typical Duration
6-14 Weeks
Submitting
To Phuket Tessaban
Permits in Thailand are not a paperwork formality. They are the moment your project becomes legally real, or fails to.
We manage the full submission and approval process to the relevant Phuket Tessaban or local administrative organisation and any specialist approvals required — environmental, coastal, height-restricted zone, or specific land-classification approvals. We prepare and submit the architectural drawings, structural certifications, and all supporting documentation in the formats and sequences the office expects.
For foreign clients, we also coordinate with your lawyer on the underlying ownership structure, particularly important after the 2025–2026 nominee enforcement changes, so that the project is built on a foundation that holds up under scrutiny.
This stage is handled in Thai, with you copied on key correspondence in English. We do not take shortcuts here. The cost of a permit problem discovered after construction has started is, in our experience, the single most expensive category of mistake in Thai villa building.
DELIVERABLES
- Building permit submission to Tessaban
- Coordination of structural engineering certifications
- EIA submission where applicable
- Coordination on land classification and zoning compliance
- Ongoing liaison with authority through approval process
- Confirmation of approved permit before site works begin
05
Costing/tender
Typical Duration
4-6 Weeks
OUTPUT
Selected builder, signed contract
The tender is where transparent pricing replaces guesswork and where most of the financial risk of the project is either contained or quietly built in.
Working from the approved construction drawings, we prepare a detailed Bill of Quantities itemising every measurable element of the build. Builders price against the same document, line by line, so their bids can be compared like-for-like. We invite tenders from builders we know to be competent, and we sit with you to review the bids, ask the questions the bids do not answer, and check the assumptions behind the prices.
The output is not just a price. It is a builder you understand, a contract with appropriate protections, a payment schedule tied to verifiable milestones, and clear documentation of what is included and excluded. The cheapest bid is rarely the right answer. The bid you understand most completely usually is.
DELIVERABLES
- Detailed Bill of Quantities
- Tender pack issued to shortlisted builders
- Bid analysis and comparison
- Builder interviews and reference check
- Contract negotiation and payment schedule
- Final builder recommendation
06
Site supervision
Typical Duration
6-18 Months
Engagement
Through to final handover
The drawings tell the builder what to do. Site supervision is what makes sure they actually do it.
We attend the site on a defined cadence — typically weekly site visits with additional attendance at critical milestones (foundations, slab pour, roof, wet trades, final finishes). At each visit we check that the work conforms to the drawings, that materials specified are the materials being used, that quality is on track, and that any issues are flagged and resolved before they become expensive.
We act as your representative on site. Builder claims for variations are reviewed and validated before they reach you. Payment release certificates are issued only against verified completed work. Communication is documented, so disputes (when they arise) can be settled against the record rather than against memory.
For overseas clients who cannot be on the island regularly, we provide weekly written progress reports with photographs, milestone summaries, and any decisions that need your input. Your project does not depend on you being physically present.
DELIVERABLES
- Weekly site visits with documented inspection records
- Milestone sign-offs and payment certifications
- Variation orders reviewed and approved on your behalf
- Weekly written progress reports for remote clients
- Quality control against approved drawings and specifications
- Final inspection, snagging list, and handover sign-off
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