Dior Offices — Confidential

The project in brief.

Fit-out of 380 m² of offices in Paris for the house of Dior, completed in four months with a team of fifteen craftsmen. The project is covered by a non-disclosure agreement: we show and say no more than this, and that is exactly as it should be.

The craftsmanship involved.

Without going into the detail of this particular site, an office fit-out of this scale typically calls on the full range of fit-out trades — partitioning, services, finishes — within a tight schedule, and with a level of finish worthy of the client's image. Confidentiality is an integral part of the service here: on certain projects, discretion is a contractual requirement that we observe to the letter, during the works and after handover. We see it less as a constraint than as proof of the standards our teams are used to working to, and of the trust that leading houses place in W.A.R.D.

What we can say fits in three figures: 380 m² delivered in four months, with fifteen craftsmen coordinated daily. The rest is a matter of our word. This restraint applies to all our sensitive projects: controlled site access, limited communication, teams briefed on discretion. The houses that entrust us with their spaces know that their image is in safe hands — which is, ultimately, the best summary of our work.

Running a confidential operation.

What we can describe is the method — it gives nothing away about the project. An operation under a non-disclosure agreement is prepared like any other, with one additional requirement concerning the way information circulates. The scope is settled during the design phase, the programme is built backwards from the handover date, and long-lead procurement is committed as soon as it is approved. The difference lies in distribution: documents never leave the circle of those who strictly need them, exchanges go through identified channels, and every party knows what may be said and what will not be. Discretion is organised upstream; it cannot be improvised once the works are under way.

The sequence itself follows the logic of any well-run office fit-out: preparation and site set-up, clearing, running and checking the services before anything is closed up, partitioning, then coverings, joinery and finishes, and finally the equipment and its adjustment. Fifteen craftsmen take their turn within this sequence without getting in each other's way, which calls for daily management of attendance and of the interfaces between trades. The final phase — testing, fine-tuning, clearing the snagging list — precedes a handover prepared in advance rather than discovered on the day. It is this work of all-trades coordination that makes a four-month programme sustainable.

Working for a luxury house.

Working for a leading house imposes a wider frame of reference than the technical specification alone. The brand's own standards govern workmanship, the tolerances allowed and the appearance of visible work: what would be acceptable elsewhere is not acceptable here. In practice, that means more frequent inspections, samples approved before work begins, and rework accepted whenever the result falls short of the expected level. This standard cannot be decreed at the end of a project; it is held at every stage — including on the work that no one will ever see.

To this are added the constraints of a professional site still in use: controlled access, named lists of operatives, regulated hours, noisy phases programmed outside sensitive periods, and systematic protection of the neighbouring areas. Compliance for workplaces — escape routes kept clear, the fire performance of materials, emergency lighting, ventilation — naturally remains central to the operation. Finally, the handover date is a firm commitment, because the client's teams organise their activity around it. Holding the programme, respecting the confidentiality framework and delivering to the expected level are here one and the same job.

A demanding office or workspace project? Discover our role as general contractor in Paris — or, if you are a specifying architect, how we deliver your projects —, or get an estimate in complete confidentiality.