How to Choose the Right Architecture and Interior Design Consultancy for a Commercial Project

Choosing an architecture and interior design consultancy for a commercial project can be more difficult than it first appears. On paper, the process looks simple. A procurement team shares the brief, receives proposals from a few firms, compares the scope and fees, and recommends one. In reality, the difficult part is deciding what should actually be compared.

We see this quite often at EXS. A new client may have a clear project requirement but still struggle to assess different consultancies because every firm presents its experience, scope and fees differently. Sometimes the first question is about cost. Sometimes it is about previous projects. And quite often, the team wants an initial layout or concept to understand which consultancy might be the right fit.

We understand the reasoning behind that. When you are making a significant commercial investment, you need to be confident that the consultancy you appoint can understand the project, work within its constraints and take responsibility for the design process. The problem is that a serious design consultancy cannot always be assessed through a fee comparison or a sample drawing.

The better approach is to understand how the consultancy thinks, what experience it brings and what exactly it will be responsible for.

Start by understanding what the project actually needs

Before comparing architecture and interior design consultancies, the first step should be defining what you expect the consultancy to achieve.

This is why a good design brief needs to go beyond area and room requirements. The consultancy needs to understand the client aspiration, users, budget, authority requirements, execution and project timeline, stakeholder alignment, site constraints and design challenges. These are among the parameters EXS considers as part of its project approach.

The reason is simple. Design decisions are rarely independent of the business behind the project. A workplace has to support the people using it. A retail environment has to consider movement, visibility and customer experience. A business centre needs to balance efficient planning with an environment where people feel comfortable doing business.

The Koin International project in JLT is a good example. The 10,000 sq.ft space had to allow efficient movement of people and product while also creating a welcoming environment for business. EXS describes the project as an exercise in efficient space planning while bringing brand identity into a highly functional business centre.

That is the level of thinking you should expect to see before the first design solution is presented.

The fee should not be the first comparison

Cost will always matter in a commercial project. Procurement needs to manage budgets, compare proposals and make sure the appointment makes financial sense.

The problem begins when the fee becomes the easiest or most important thing to compare.

Two consultancies can receive exactly the same brief and still propose very different fees because their understanding of the scope may be different. One may include detailed design, coordinated drawings, tender support, authority approvals, site visits and post-contract involvement. Another may not.

The EXS consultancy process, for example, extends from concept and detailed design into pre-contract and post-contract stages, with services that can include coordinated drawings, bills of quantities, technical tender evaluation, value engineering, authority approvals, shop drawing reviews, site visits, material review, snagging and final inspection.

That does not mean every project requires every service. It means the scope needs to be understood before the fee can be meaningfully compared.

So instead of asking only, "Which consultancy is charging less?", procurement should ask, "Are we comparing the same scope, the same level of involvement and the same responsibility?"

That one change can make the selection process much more useful.

A sample layout does not tell you how a consultancy will design your project

This is probably one of the most common conversations we have with prospective clients.

A procurement team may approach three or four consultancies and ask each of them to prepare an initial layout or concept before deciding who to appoint. From the client's side, it feels logical. You want to see what each firm can come up with before committing.

But there is a fundamental issue with using a sample design as the selection test.

A design solution starts with understanding the project.

Who is going to use the space? How does the business operate? What needs to work better? What are the site limitations? What are the authority requirements? What does the brand need the space to communicate? What needs to happen within the available budget and timeline?

Until those questions are understood, a layout is only a partial response.

This is particularly important for commercial projects because the design often has to balance several competing requirements. The most visually interesting solution may not be the most operationally efficient. The most efficient plan may not communicate the brand appropriately. The most ambitious idea may not work within the project budget or execution timeline.

A consultancy should therefore be evaluated on its ability to understand and resolve those relationships, not simply on how attractive its first concept looks.

Look at the portfolio, but look beyond the pictures

A portfolio is one of the most useful tools available during the selection process, but only if you know what you are looking for.

Instead of asking whether you like the visual style, look at the relevance of the experience. Has the consultancy worked across similar sectors? Has it handled comparable scales? Has it worked with complex stakeholders? Has it taken responsibility beyond concept design?

EXS has more than a decade of experience across offices, F&B, healthcare, wellness, retail and integrated residential projects, while its profile positions the practice as an integrated Architecture, Interiors and Landscape design consultancy.

That range can be useful because commercial design problems rarely fit neatly into one visual category.

The Mitsumi Distribution work, for example, spans offices in Dubai, KSA, Ghana and Kenya, with EXS involved in Design & Build. The Muroor Centre project in Abu Dhabi involved reimagining an existing 7,820 sq.m supermarket and associated common areas into a new community-focused retail destination.

These are very different projects, but that is precisely what makes the experience relevant. The value of a portfolio is not that it proves a consultancy can reproduce one particular look. It should demonstrate that the team has experience understanding different users, constraints, scales and commercial objectives.

Ask what the consultancy actually did

There is another question that is often missed when reviewing a portfolio: What was the consultancy's actual role?

A project can appear impressive in a presentation, but that does not automatically tell you what the design firm was responsible for.

Was it architecture? Interior design? Design consultancy? Design and build? Project management? An integrated scope?

This distinction matters because you are not appointing a portfolio. You are appointing a team to take responsibility for a particular scope.

For example, EXS has undertaken projects where the scope includes integrated Architecture, Interior Design and Landscape services, while other projects focus on Interior Design and Consultancy or Design & Build. The firm's notable project list includes commercial offices, headquarters, innovation hubs, business centres, F&B outlets and retail environments across different scopes and project values.

A good procurement process should therefore ask a simple question when reviewing every relevant project: What did this consultancy actually handle?

The answer can tell you much more than the project photograph.

Client feedback can tell you what the portfolio cannot

There is also value in looking at what previous clients say about the working relationship.

For example, the client feedback for Atelier Business Center describes EXS being involved from the initial concept through contractor and furniture selection and execution, while also highlighting professionalism and client focus.

The feedback from Koin International speaks about staying within budget and time, maintaining communication throughout the process and understanding what the client wanted to achieve.

And Mitsumi's feedback specifically highlights EXS's ability to work within constraints while delivering a functional and aesthetically considered environment. Pasted markdown

These are useful observations because they address something a portfolio cannot show easily: what it is actually like to work with the consultancy.

For a commercial project, that matters. Design development involves questions, revisions, coordination, decisions and sometimes difficult constraints. The ability to communicate clearly and stay involved through those stages can be just as important as the design itself.

Experience should also be measurable where it can be

Experience does not always have to be described through adjectives such as "extensive" or "diverse". Where a consultancy can provide meaningful project data, it gives procurement a better basis for understanding its track record.

EXS's 2026 profile, for example, records projects across different scales and sectors, including the 10,000 sq.ft Koin International office, the 7,820 sq.m Muroor Centre and the 5,000 sq.ft Roastery Station Cafe.

The profile also states that 95% of EXS projects have a track record of speedy design approvals with stakeholders and that the practice focuses on viable creativity that considers time, cost and precise execution.

These kinds of figures and project details are more useful than simply saying a consultancy has "a lot of experience". They give you something concrete to investigate and discuss.

So, what should procurement actually compare?

There is no single formula for choosing the right architecture and interior design consultancy because every commercial project is different. But a good selection process should leave you with clear answers.

Does the consultancy understand the brief and the business behind it? Does its portfolio demonstrate relevant experience rather than simply attractive imagery? Is its actual role on those projects clear? Does the proposed scope cover what the project genuinely requires? Who will be involved? How will the consultancy manage design development, coordination and execution? And finally, does the fee make sense when viewed against that complete scope?

Once you have these answers, the fee becomes easier to assess because you are no longer comparing isolated numbers.

You are comparing experience, responsibility, process, scope and thinking.

That is a much stronger basis for a commercial appointment.

At EXS, we have found that the strongest projects begin with this conversation. Our role is not simply to produce a drawing and hand it over. The process can extend from briefing and concept development through detailed design, tendering, coordination and execution, depending on the project requirements. The objective is to keep the design connected to the client's aspirations, users, budget, constraints and eventual execution.

So, when you are selecting an architecture and interior design consultancy for your next commercial project, perhaps the better question is not simply, "Which design looks best?"

It is "Which team understands what this project needs to become, and has the experience to take it there?"

That is where the real comparison begins.