Turnkey Design and Build Services in Pakistan
Plan, approve and build your home or commercial project through one coordinated team. Avenir Developments connects architecture, engineering, cost planning, grey structure, finishing and handover so important decisions are resolved before they become expensive site problems. Residential and commercial Design + Build services are available in Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Architectural design, interior design and consultancy can also be provided for selected projects across Pakistan, subject to scope and location.
Turnkey Design and Build in Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi
One team designs your house or commercial building, takes it through approvals, prices it from its own drawings and builds it. You hold a single appointment. When a drawing and a site condition disagree, the firm that produced both deals with it.
- Delivered in
- Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Design only elsewhere in Pakistan.
- Price agreed
- At stage six of eight, from an itemised bill of quantities.
- Built for
- New houses, farmhouses, commercial buildings and fit-outs.
Prefer a form? Start a residential brief or a commercial brief.
What a Design and Build appointment is
Design and Build means appointing one firm to take a building from the first brief to the day you receive the keys.
On an Avenir project, that firm produces the architectural, structural and MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) drawings, prepares the authority submission, prices construction from its own drawings and builds in Lahore, Islamabad or Rawalpindi. The construction price is agreed once those drawings exist. Interiors, landscaping, specialist systems and authority fees are confirmed in the signed proposal for each project.
Turnkey is the word most people search for, and it answers a different question. Turnkey describes the building at handover, finished and ready to move into. Design and Build describes who carries responsibility before that day.
A contractor can hand over a turnkey house built from another architect’s drawings. That is our construction service, and it suits owners who arrive with a complete drawing set.
Four terms that get mixed up
- Design and Build
- One firm answerable for design, approvals, pricing and construction.
- This page
- Turnkey or complete construction
- Grey structure and finishing under one contract, handed over ready to occupy, usually from drawings you already hold.
- Construction services
- Grey structure
- The structural shell: foundations, the RCC (reinforced cement concrete) frame, masonry, roof slab and the conduits cast into them.
- Grey structure cost guide
- Integrated building design
- Architecture, structure and MEP drawn as one coordinated set, with no construction attached.
- Integrated building design
Eight stages, and what the price means at each one
Most arguments about construction prices in Pakistan begin with a request for a firm number at a stage where only a range can exist. In a Design and Build appointment the number firms up as the drawings do. This is what it means at each stage.
Stage 01
Discovery call
Produced
A written summary of the plot, the brief and the constraints on both.
The number
Planning range
Your city, likely covered area and finishing tier place you inside the ranges on our cost guide. That tells you whether the project is within reach. It is not a price.
Stage 02
Brief and feasibility
Produced
A signed brief, and a note of the covered area, height and basement the byelaws allow on your plot.
The number
Budget bracket
Covered area multiplies every rate on the project, and the byelaws have now capped it.
Stage 03
Concept design
Produced
Plans, elevations and 3D views, reviewed with you and revised.
The number
Design-stage estimate
Floors, basement, spans and façade materials are drawn, so the concept is estimated against your bracket before you approve it.
Stage 04
Authority submission
Produced
Submission drawings lodged with DHA, LDA, CDA, RDA or the society, and replies to any objections.
The number
Estimate held or revised
It holds unless an objection changes the area, the height or the basement. If one does, the estimate is revised with the drawings.
Stage 05
Working drawings
Produced
A coordinated construction set of architectural, structural and MEP drawings, with a schedule of finishes.
The number
Quantities countable
Structural drawings fix the steel and concrete. MEP drawings fix the services, and the schedule of finishes fixes every tile, fitting and door.
Stage 06
Pricing and agreement
First figure that is a price
Produced
An itemised bill of quantities, meaning every item of work measured and priced, plus written exclusions, a payment schedule tied to completed work and the agreement.
The number
Contract sum
If the sum does not work for you, the appointment can end here. The drawings are prepared to be built by any competent contractor.
Stage 07
Construction
Produced
Records made before steel, waterproofing and concealed services are covered, and a running register of variations.
The number
Contract sum plus approved variations
A change is priced and approved in writing before the work is done, then added to the register.
Stage 08
Handover
Produced
Testing, a closed snag list of the defects found at final inspection, completion documents and warranties for installed equipment.
The number
Final account
Nothing appears in it that you did not approve during construction.
Owners living abroad go through the same eight stages. How each stage runs from overseas, including power of attorney and payments, is set out on the overseas clients page. Current planning ranges are on the house construction cost guide.
Where the money goes when design and construction are separate
Architecture, structure and services are usually drawn by different people, at different times, to different deadlines. Those drawings then have to agree at every beam, shaft, drain run and ceiling junction.
Where they do not, the clash shows up on site. Under separate appointments it becomes a question of whose scope it fell into. The architect points to the structural drawing, the contractor points to the architectural one, and the correction reaches you as an extra, usually once the frame is up and changing firms is no longer realistic.
One appointment removes the question. The firm that drew the beam also drew the duct, so the clash is resolved inside the appointment instead of being argued between two.
Four clashes we check for before anything is cast
- A beam crosses the route of a supply duct, and the false ceiling has to drop to hide it.
- A bathroom sits above the lounge with no lowered slab, so its drains have no fall.
- A column from the structural grid lands inside the car porch opening shown on the plan.
- An air-conditioning drain meets a beam that has no sleeve cast through it.
The Three-Stage Avenir Process
A coordinated design and construction pathway that moves your project from an approval-aware concept to a completed, usable property.
Architectural Design and Building Approvals
Convert your requirements into an approval-aware, coordinated and buildable project definition.
- Main activities
- Consultation and brief, site or plot assessment, byelaw review, concept planning, floor plans, exterior design, 3D visualisation, structural and MEP direction, submission drawings, construction documentation and early budgeting.
- Main deliverables
- Approved concept, coordinated design package, authority submission documents and a clearer basis for pricing.
- Your decisions
- Room requirements, lifestyle or operational needs, design direction, budget range, key materials, scope and major alternatives.
- Quality checks
- Plot data, dimensions, setbacks, circulation, buildability, structure and MEP interfaces, and drawing coordination according to scope.
- Dependencies
- Ownership and plot documents, site information, authority rules, client feedback, specialist inputs and approval comments.
Grey Structure Works
Execute the structural shell and embedded services against approved drawings, agreed specifications and defined inspection points.
- Main activities
- Activities may include mobilisation, setting out, excavation, foundations, anti-termite treatment, RCC works, masonry, plaster, embedded plumbing and electrical works, underground and overhead tanks, roof treatment and boundary works.
- Main deliverables
- Completed structural stages, measurement records, site progress information and documented variations according to contract.
- Your decisions
- Approved contract, material specifications, change requests, nominated items and timely release of required information or payments.
- Quality checks
- Checks may include drawing verification, material approvals, reinforcement and formwork checks, concrete-related controls, levels, dimensions, masonry and concealed-service inspections according to the project plan.
- Dependencies
- Soil and site conditions, approved structural drawings, utilities, access, weather, procurement, labour availability and timely decisions.
Finishing Works and Handover
Complete the architectural, interior and service finishes to the approved material direction and prepare the property for use.
- Main activities
- Activities may include flooring, wall finishes, ceilings, paint, doors and windows, kitchens, wardrobes, electrical fixtures, sanitary fixtures, joinery, interior details, external works, testing and snagging.
- Main deliverables
- Approved samples and installations, completion records, snag list, rectification and handover documents according to contract.
- Your decisions
- Finish selections, samples, brands, colours, fixtures, appliances, loose furniture and any upgrades.
- Quality checks
- Samples, alignment, levels, installation details, service testing, finish consistency, snagging and closure.
- Dependencies
- Approved material schedule, procurement lead times, availability, completed concealed works, dry conditions and decision deadlines.
Tell us the plot and where the design stands
City, society, plot size and whether anything is drawn yet. That is enough for us to say which stage your project starts at, and what kind of figure is possible at that point.
Your message will ask for
- City
- Society and phase
- Plot size
- Drawings so far
Opens WhatsApp with these four fields ready to fill.
What sits inside the appointment
The appointment is assembled from six parts. Under each, the second line lists what is confirmed in writing for your project instead of assumed. Those are the items that start disagreements when nobody wrote them down.
Brief and feasibility
Inside the appointment
Plot and byelaw review, a written brief, and the covered area, height and basement your plot allows.
Confirmed for your project
Measured survey and soil investigation.
Architecture and approvals
Inside the appointment
Concept plans, elevations and 3D views, submission drawings, and replies to authority objections.
Confirmed for your project
Number of concept options, renders and revision rounds. Authority fees, NOCs and society charges.
Structure and MEP
Inside the appointment
Structural design, electrical and plumbing design, and the coordination of both with the architecture.
Confirmed for your project
Ducted or VRF air-conditioning design, fire systems, lifts, solar and home automation.
Interior design
Inside the appointment
Space planning, ceiling, lighting and tile layouts, and joinery drawings where interiors are in scope.
Confirmed for your project
Loose furniture, curtains, appliances, styling and imported items.
Construction
Inside the appointment
Grey structure and finishing to the bill of quantities and schedule of finishes, with procurement and site supervision.
Confirmed for your project
Boundary wall, gate and external works, landscaping, basement dewatering, and anything you supply yourself.
Handover
Inside the appointment
Testing, snagging, completion documents and a defects period.
Confirmed for your project
How detailed the as-built drawings are, equipment warranty terms, and the completion certificate application.
The construction scope is broken down item by item, including where plaster and the boundary wall sit, on our construction services page.
Decisions that get expensive once they are built in
A decision is cheap while it is still a line on a drawing. Once it is cast into a slab or chased into a wall, reversing it means breaking something. These are the latest sensible stages for the decisions that come up on nearly every house, numbered to match the eight stages above.
| Decision | Latest sensible stage | Why it cannot wait |
|---|---|---|
| Basement or no basement | 02 Brief and feasibility | It changes excavation depth, retaining walls and waterproofing, and whether the approval allows it at all. |
| Number of storeys, mumty and total covered area | 03 Concept design | These fix the submission drawings. Changing them later means submitting again. |
| Staircase and lift position | 03 Concept design | The structural grid is planned around them. |
| Wide spans, cantilevers and double-height spaces | 03 Concept design | They set beam depths and steel tonnage across the frame. |
| Bathrooms or kitchens above living rooms | 05 Working drawings | A lowered slab or a raised floor has to be designed in to give the drains their fall. |
| Air-conditioning: split, ducted or VRF | 05 Working drawings | Sleeves through beams, ceiling voids and condensate drains are planned before the slab is cast. |
| Solar, UPS and backup power | 05 Working drawings | Conduit routes, distribution boards and roof loading depend on the choice. |
| Window sizes and frame system | 07 Before masonry | Openings and lintels are built to the frame size. |
| Kitchen layout and appliance positions | 07 Before first fix | Water, drainage, gas and power points are set into the walls. |
| Floor finish: tile, marble or wood | 07 Before screeds | Build-up thickness changes finished floor levels and door heights. |
| Paint colours, curtains and loose furniture | 07 During finishing | Cheap to change late. Leave these until you can stand in the rooms. |
First fix is the pipework, conduits and boxes built into walls and slabs before plaster. Second fix is the visible fittings that go in afterwards.
What Design and Build gives up, and what protects you
If you already work with an architect you trust and know two contractors you would happily set against each other, an open tender may get you a sharper price than any single appointment. For everyone else the choice comes down to which risks you would rather carry. Design and Build asks you to accept three.
No independent designer checking the builder
What you give up
Under separate appointments, your architect can inspect the contractor’s work for you. In Design and Build that check sits inside one firm.
What protects you
Hold-point records. Reinforcement, waterproofing and concealed services are checked against the drawings and photographed before they are covered, and those records can be reviewed by any engineer you appoint.
Less competition on price
What you give up
The builder was not chosen by open tender, so no second bid is holding the rates down.
What protects you
An itemised bill of quantities, priced from drawings you hold, which a quantity surveyor can check line by line. If the contract sum does not work, the appointment can stop at stage six.
Design choices made by the firm that builds
What you give up
A builder could, in principle, draw what is easiest to build rather than what suits your family or your tenants.
What protects you
A brief you sign before concept design. After that, any decision affecting cost or appearance comes to you with the options and the cost difference set out.
Six questions to put to any Design and Build firm
- At which stage do you give a contract sum, and which drawings is it priced from?
- Will I receive the itemised bill of quantities, or a single lump sum?
- If I stop after the design, what can I do with the drawings, and which fees fall due?
- Who inspects reinforcement, waterproofing and concealed services before they are covered, and what record do I receive?
- How is a design change priced once construction has started?
- Which items are confirmed project by project rather than included?
What happens after you send a message
- You send the city, the plot size and a line about what you want to build.
- We reply with the stage your project starts at, and the documents that would help, such as the plot file or any drawings you already have.
- A discovery call follows. If the project goes ahead, the plot is checked against its byelaws before anyone starts drawing.
Opens WhatsApp with a short message ready to send.
Who it suits, and when to appoint something else
Design and Build usually suits
- 1 Kanal and 2 Kanal housesBasements, long spans, ducted air-conditioning and heavier finishing make coordination the most expensive thing to get wrong.1 Kanal house design2 Kanal house design
- Owners building from abroadOne party answerable, and a written record doing the job a relative on site would otherwise be asked to do.How overseas clients work with us
- Commercial plots and developersParking, fire escape routes and the lift core are fixed at concept stage, and the opening date usually matters more than the lowest rate.8 Marla commercial constructionApartment building design
- Business fit-outsOffices, restaurants, clinics and shops where the design has to be built around an opening date.Interior design and fit-out
Appoint something else if
- You already hold a complete, coordinated drawing set.Construction services
- You want the design and approvals settled now, and to tender the build yourself.Architecture services
- Several consultants are involved and their drawings disagree.Integrated building design
- You own land and have not yet decided what to build.Project consultancy
- You want labour-only rates, repairs or a single-room renovation.We do not take this work, and a local contractor will serve you faster.
Where Avenir delivers Design and Build
Design and Build, construction and site supervision run in Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi only. The limit is deliberate. Supervision means our engineers on your plot through the working week, which is realistic only within reach of our two offices.
Architecture, interior design and 3D visualisation are delivered remotely to the rest of Pakistan and to clients abroad. Check which services apply to your city.
Lahore
Office: 139, CCA, DHA Phase 5
Islamabad and Rawalpindi
Office: 101, Luxus Mall, Gulberg Greens
The approval interface
Covered area, height, setbacks, basement and mumty allowances are set by each authority, and they vary by phase, plot category and edition date. Your plot is checked against the current instrument before design starts, because a rule that held in one phase or one year proves nothing about the next.
Our reference pages carry the detail: DHA Lahore building byelaws and map approval, and CDA and RDA building byelaws for Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The approval decision stays with the authority. Authority fees, NOCs and society charges are listed separately in the proposal.
Questions about Design and Build
Questions about construction scope, plaster, bills of quantities and variations are answered on the construction services page.
Questions about power of attorney, remittances and working across time zones are answered on the overseas clients page.
What does Design and Build mean for a house in Pakistan?
It means appointing one firm for the whole project: the brief, architectural design, structural and MEP drawings, authority submission, pricing and construction. Avenir Developments delivers Design and Build in Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and agrees the construction price from a bill of quantities once the drawings are complete.
Is Design and Build the same as turnkey construction?
Not quite. Turnkey describes a building handed over finished and ready to occupy. Design and Build describes one firm being responsible for the design as well as the construction. A turnkey house can be built from another architect’s drawings, which is what Avenir’s construction service does. Design and Build starts before any drawing exists.
When do I get a fixed price in a Design and Build appointment?
At stage six of eight, once the architectural, structural and MEP drawings and the schedule of finishes are complete. Before that you receive a planning range, then a budget bracket, then a design-stage estimate. A fixed figure given earlier would have to be corrected later, because the quantities could not yet be counted.
How much does Design and Build cost in Lahore or Islamabad?
The total is the design fee plus the construction cost, and both move with covered area, basement, structure, specification and external works. Current construction ranges for Lahore and Islamabad are published on our house construction cost guide, with a calculator, and design fees are explained on the architecture and design fee page. A project figure follows the drawings.
Can I start with design and decide on construction later?
Yes. You can appoint Avenir for design and approvals, review the drawings and the budget, and then decide whether to continue into construction. The drawings are prepared to be built by any competent contractor, so the choice stays open until you have seen what the building will cost.
Who is responsible if part of the design is hard to build?
In Design and Build the firm that produced the drawings is also building them, so the problem is resolved inside one appointment instead of being argued between an architect and a contractor. The signed agreement sets out how design development is handled. If you change the design yourself after the contract sum is agreed, that change is priced and approved in writing before the work.
Does Avenir handle DHA, LDA, CDA and RDA approvals?
Yes, within the appointment. Avenir prepares and lodges the submission drawings and replies to objections until the authority reaches a decision. Authority fees, NOCs and society charges are confirmed separately. No firm can guarantee an approval or its timing, because that decision belongs to the authority.
Where does Avenir offer Design and Build?
In Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi, including DHA Lahore, Lake City, Bahria Town, DHA Islamabad, Margalla Enclave, Bahria Town Rawalpindi and Gulberg Greens. In other Pakistani cities Avenir provides architecture, interior design and visualisation remotely, without site supervision.
Can Design and Build be used for a commercial building?
Yes. For plazas, offices, apartment buildings and mixed-use projects the method is the same, but more is fixed at concept stage: permissible use, FAR, parking, fire escape routes and the lift core. Those decisions are tested against the approving authority’s rules and your opening date before detailed design begins.
I live abroad. Can I appoint Design and Build without coming to Pakistan?
Yes. Discovery, the brief, design reviews, drawings and pricing can all be completed from abroad. Acts that need a signature in Pakistan, such as the authority submission and the construction agreement, are usually handled through a special power of attorney limited to construction matters. The overseas clients page sets out the full sequence.
How long does a Design and Build project take?
It depends on covered area, basement, structural complexity, approval timelines and how quickly finishing decisions are made. Design and approvals come before any construction, so plan them back from the date you want to start on site. A programme with stage durations is issued with the construction quotation.
Can Avenir design to a budget I set at the start?
Yes, if the budget is shared at the brief. It is the strongest constraint on the design, and the concept is estimated against it before you approve it. Where the brief and the budget pull apart, you see the trade-offs in covered area, basement or finishing tier while they are still choices on a drawing.
Send the plot before you ask for a rate
Nobody will ask you to commit to construction before your drawings are priced.
Send the city, the plot size and whatever you have so far. We will tell you where the project starts and what kind of figure is possible at that stage.
Speak With the Avenir Team on WhatsAppPrefer to write it down first? Start a residential brief or a commercial brief.