The Hidden Cost in Public-Space Projects

From Martin Rowland, CEO

The hidden cost in public-space projects is often not the product - it is the friction!

Public-space projects are rarely made difficult by one single issue.  More often, the pressure comes from small points of friction that build up across the project.

• A missing drawing.
• An unclear specification.
• A slow response.
• A finish that is not confirmed.
• A lead time that changes late.
• A substitution that weakens the design intent.
• A supplier who cannot answer a technical question.
• A contractor who receives incomplete information.
• A council team that inherits a maintenance issue after handover.

None of these things sound dramatic in isolation. But together, they add cost, time, risk and frustration.

We’ve seen this happen many times over our 20 years in operation. The same pressure points come up repeatedly: budget constraints, maintenance concerns, approval pathways, competing stakeholder priorities and the challenge of keeping a project moving while still protecting the outcome.

These are predictable sources of friction, and they tend to surface on almost every project in some form.

That is why reducing friction is one of the most underrated forms of innovation in public-space infrastructure. It also underpins our Expect More promise.

Our industry often thinks about innovation as a new product, a new material or a new technology. Sometimes it is. But practical innovation can also mean making a project easier to deliver.

• Easier to specify.
• Easier to price.
• Easier to approve.
• Easier to install.
• Easier to maintain.
• Easier to adapt when site conditions change.

For councils, friction can show up as budget pressure, internal approvals, maintenance concerns or uncertainty around long-term value.

For landscape architects, it can show up as missing technical documentation, limited visual assets, unclear compliance information, reduced flexibility or suppliers who do not understand the design intent.

For contractors, it can show up as poor installation details, late deliveries, unclear responsibilities, site coordination issues or products that do not match the documentation.

For manufacturers, friction often appears when we are brought into the conversation too late and are expected to solve problems that could have been prevented earlier.

The opportunity is to treat friction as a real project cost.

It may not always appear as a line item in the budget, but it is there. It shows up in redesign time, variation risk, emails, phone calls, delays, rework, substitutions, reputational risk and pressure on the people trying to deliver the project.

This is where partnership matters.

A supplier should not only provide a product.
A good supplier should help reduce uncertainty.

That means clear drawings, accessible technical support, honest lead times, practical advice, flexible options and a willingness to work with the project team before decisions become difficult to change.

It also means understanding that different stakeholders are carrying different risks.

The designer is trying to protect the intent of the space. The council is trying to deliver value for the community and manage the asset long term. The contractor is trying to deliver the project safely, efficiently and profitably. The manufacturer should be helping those priorities align, not adding another layer of complexity.

One question we should ask more often is this:

“What would make this project easier for everyone involved
without lowering the quality of the outcome?”

In our experience, that question opens better conversations.

It can lead to earlier technical reviews, more standardised details, coordinated product suites, better finish selections, fewer substitutions, clearer installation guides and better maintenance planning, all of which have a very real impact on project timelines and the bottom line.

In public-space work, the community sees the final result. They do not see the hundreds of decisions behind it. They do not see the coordination pressure, the technical questions, the procurement constraints or the site challenges.  But they do experience the consequences.

A space that is easier to deliver is not automatically a better space. But when the delivery process is clearer, the project team has more energy to focus on the things that matter: community use, design quality, safety, inclusion, maintenance and long-term value.

Reducing friction is not a small thing.  It is part of delivering better public spaces.