Your questions.
Our approach.

Start with the conversation. Does the architect ask thoughtful questions about your goals, budget and concerns? Do you feel understood, or are you being steered towards a solution before they know enough about your project?

Then look closely at their experience. Which projects were built, what was their actual role, and how far did their involvement extend? A concept appointment is different from taking a project through technical design and construction. Experience with different clients and budgets can also show whether a practice can adapt to your needs.

Ask where their expertise is strongest, what they cover themselves and where they bring in specialists. A trustworthy team should be clear about its limits and willing to recommend others when needed.

Finally, consider the working relationship. You may be making difficult decisions together for several years. Clear communication, transparency and the confidence to give honest advice matter as much as the first presentation. At NBAX Galactic, these are the standards we want you to judge us by.

Yes. The senior people you meet at the beginning remain involved in guiding your project. We do not win the appointment and then hand you over to a junior team.

We bring in additional designers and specialists according to the work required, with senior oversight and continuity in the client relationship. We will explain who is responsible for what and who your main contact will be.

The working relationship matters, too. If you feel particularly comfortable with one of our senior team members, let us know so we can consider that when agreeing the team.

Yes. We understand that a full appointment is a big commitment. You can start with one agreed phase as a way to work together and see whether we are the right fit.

We define the scope, fee and deliverables upfront. At the end of that phase, we review the next steps together. You can then decide whether to extend our appointment or, where appropriate, retain us in a design guardian role.

Tell us where the project is, what you want to achieve and what you are unsure about. A site location, a few photographs or drawings, your current stage and an indication of budget and timing are useful, if you have them.

You do not need to prepare a polished presentation or a finished brief. An owner wondering what to do with a site has different questions from a developer already on site. We start with the decision you need to make next.

We encourage you to speak to several practices. Different architects bring different strengths and working styles, and the relationship needs to suit both sides.

Our fees reflect the scope, location, complexity and level of support your project requires. Construction budget alone does not tell us how much work is involved. A modest project with tight constraints can require considerable design effort, just as an ambitious development can involve extensive coordination.

When comparing proposals, check whether you are comparing the same service. Which design stages, drawings, specifications, consultant coordination and construction support are included? Who will work on the project? What is excluded, and how are additional services charged?

The design fee also needs to be considered alongside the wider investment. Decisions about planning, materials, construction and operation can have consequences well beyond our appointment. Look for relevant experience, commercial judgement and clear communication, as well as a fee you can afford.

We will explain how our proposal is structured and discuss adjustments to the scope where appropriate. If another quote differs substantially, we are happy to help you understand the differences in what is being offered.

It should not. We consider working intelligently within a budget part of good design. A clear plan, well-chosen materials and details that are straightforward to build can create a strong impression without unnecessary complexity.

We look at where spending will make a meaningful difference and where repetition or simplification makes more sense. The aim is to create quality you can afford to build, operate and maintain, rather than an image that only works on paper.

We start by agreeing what you want the hotel to become, who you want to attract and what makes sense in your local market. That means understanding your guests, operations and competitors, then setting a clear direction. This can be a focused exercise rather than an expensive branding project.

With that direction in place, we assess what to keep, what to change and where your investment could have the greatest impact. We also consider current material and procurement costs, and how work could be phased around the hotel’s operation to minimise disruption.

The result is a plan for what you can afford now and what could follow later. Each improvement should contribute to the same long-term vision, rather than becoming another isolated renovation.

Tell us as soon as possible. We need to understand whether this is a temporary funding issue, a change in the business plan or a permanent reduction in what can be spent.

We can then compare options such as reducing scope, phasing work, changing specifications or simplifying particular elements. We explain what each option means for the design and the wider project. Any additional design work and its fee or timing implications are agreed before proceeding.

A reliable construction price needs more than a design concept. It depends on the location, scope, level of detail, current market and the way the work will be procured.

We help you develop a design that responds to your budget and work with your cost consultant, contractor or suppliers to test it against pricing. We can help identify cost drivers and alternatives. We do not present an early design estimate as a guaranteed tender price.

A smaller hotel can be a good fit. We work across different budgets and hotel categories, and offer a complimentary first conversation to understand your project and whether we could work well together.

We do not believe good design has to be expensive to build. A good designer works within the budget, creating a sense of quality through thoughtful planning, materials and details that are practical to construct and cost-effective to deliver.

Our fees are not necessarily the lowest. Our role is to help protect your investment by making the available budget work harder. That includes knowing where to spend, where to simplify and which decisions will affect operating and maintenance costs later.

We will be honest about what is achievable and explain the consequences of reducing particular budgets. We would rather agree a realistic approach with you than win the project by overpromising.

Before we start, we agree how we will communicate and how often. That might mean weekly updates, meetings every two weeks or reviews at agreed milestones, with interim presentations where useful.

You should have enough visibility to make informed decisions without having to manage every detail yourself. We identify where your input or approval is needed and flag unexpected problems or decisions that could affect the project.

Design reviews are part of the process. Our proposal sets out the included review rounds so you have opportunities to discuss the work and request changes. If you disagree with a direction, tell us early so we can understand why and work through it together.

Further review rounds or changes beyond the agreed scope can be provided as additional services. We discuss any fee or programme implications before proceeding. Clear goals and timely feedback help avoid unnecessary rework and keep costs under control. If the communication arrangements are not working for you, we can adjust them together.

Yes. Working across different countries means we regularly join teams with different working methods and communication styles. You do not need to replace your existing team to work with us.

We start by meeting the relevant parties and understanding their roles, priorities and processes. From there, we agree how responsibilities, information and decisions will be coordinated.

We can work within an established framework or contribute methods that have worked well on other projects. The aim is to find an approach that works for your team and keeps the project moving.

A hotel involves many consultants, suppliers and contractors. Someone needs to carry the design vision through the whole process, keep the different parties coordinated and resolve questions before they become decisions on site.

We start by understanding where responsibility sits at each stage. Was the original designer appointed only for the concept? Does the next team understand the intent? Are the drawings and specifications clear enough to build from? Have the different disciplines developed their work together?

We can provide continuity from concept through technical design and construction support, where included in our appointment. That means communicating the intent, coordinating information and reviewing proposed changes so their consequences are understood.

Experience matters, but so does communication. A strong concept needs clear documentation, careful handovers and someone who keeps asking whether the decisions being made still support the agreed design.

Yes. We start by reviewing the design with your team, operator and contractor to understand what is driving the cost or construction difficulties.

Sometimes the answer is to standardise repeated elements, simplify a detail or find a more affordable material that retains the intended appearance and performance. Our procurement experience and supplier relationships across FF&E and finishes can help us explore practical alternatives.

We have also worked directly for contractors, so we understand their methods and the information they need. That helps us distinguish between a design issue, a coordination gap and a procurement or construction constraint.

The aim is to retain what matters in the concept while making it more practical to deliver, with changes coordinated against the operator’s requirements.

Yes, we can bring these disciplines together through NBAX Galactic, or agree a focused appointment for the part you need. An integrated scope can help connect the visitor experience with the technical interfaces between buildings, interiors and landscape.

We explain which services and specialists are included, who is responsible for coordination and how information will be delivered. BIM requirements, construction documentation and local statutory responsibilities are agreed for the particular project.

Not necessarily. Tell us what is unresolved, what has already been built and which decisions are urgent. We can review a defined need for design clarification, coordination, documentation or construction support.

We first need to see the available information and understand the existing team’s responsibilities. From there, we can tell you where we could help and agree a realistic scope.

Yes. A number of our commissions are confidential, so the public portfolio represents only a selection of our work. We agree confidentiality and publication arrangements with you and respect restrictions on names, images and project information.

We can discuss the experience relevant to your brief within those boundaries. We only share material we are authorised to disclose.

No. You don’t need a finished brief to start a conversation. We can help you explore what could suit the site, the type of hotel you want to develop and which operators might be appropriate.

We bring experience of hotel requirements, different market segments and working with both established operators and new brands. We can help shape the initial vision and brief, identify the studies you need and recommend specialist consultants suited to the project and your budget.

Detailed financial feasibility and market assessments belong with the relevant specialists. We work alongside them, helping you understand how their findings affect the design and development decisions. Where agreed, we can also coordinate this early process and support you as a client representative.

If your ambition extends beyond one hotel, we can help develop a wider brand vision and design standards that can adapt to future locations.

Yes. We start by understanding the standards, the approval process and the particular requirements of your property. We bring experience across established international operators and independent hotels at different market levels.

Where a standard creates a difficulty for the site or budget, we help the team develop and present a reasoned alternative. The operator decides whether to approve a departure. Clear coordination early on helps avoid designing something that later needs to be undone.

Yes. We have worked with new brands on their longer-term vision, design identity and standards, as well as individual buildings.

We can help define what should feel consistent from one property to another and what should adapt to each location. The scope could include spatial principles, room types, materials or design guidance. Specialist market research and a full marketing or brand-communications programme can be coordinated separately where needed.

Yes. An attractive guest experience depends on a hotel that works behind the scenes. We want to understand how your team will clean, service, maintain and operate the spaces we design.

We discuss these needs with you and the operator alongside room planning, guest circulation, materials and equipment. Resolving those relationships early is more effective than trying to make an impractical plan work after construction.

Yes, but we would not assume that what works in one location should be copied unchanged. Local culture, guest expectations, climate, available materials and construction methods all affect the design.

We work with your operator, local team and relevant specialists to understand what needs to stay consistent and what should change. Local professional registration, approvals and compliance responsibilities are established for each jurisdiction.

We start with the place, the people who might visit and what you want from the project. What is distinctive about the landscape or local culture? What is the area already known for? What would give someone a reason to choose your destination?

Sometimes that reason already exists. It might be a local tradition, a particular landscape or a sport or activity with an established community. Building around a clear audience helps guide the experience, facilities and design. It also gives your future marketing a more focused starting point. Trying to offer something for everyone can make a destination harder to understand and harder to promote.

We also need to understand your ambitions. Will you operate it yourself, bring in an operator or eventually sell? How involved do you want to be, what excites you personally, and what can you invest?

We bring those answers together with the site’s practical and environmental constraints. We don’t arrive with a building we want you to commission. We help you choose a clear direction that fits the place, your audience, your budget and your long-term goals.

Possibly, but first we need to understand why they leave. Is there nothing else they want to do, or are the existing experiences difficult to find, reach or enjoy? We look at the visitor journey and how the different parts of your attraction work together before recommending an investment.

Sometimes relatively small changes can help. Other sites need a broader rethink of their offer or positioning. There is no single solution that works everywhere.

Mühlenkopfschanze in Germany, where NBAX designed the inclined car, is a useful example of a ski-jump venue developing a wider tourism offer beyond competition days. The question is what could give your own visitors a reason to stay longer, return or visit outside your busiest season.

We will give you an honest assessment of whether modest improvements could make a worthwhile difference or whether larger changes are needed. Recommending more design work is not automatically the right answer.

It can help, but the starting point is the offer, not another building. We would look at who could visit outside the peak season, what they would come for and whether the place can support that experience operationally.

We can then explore how existing spaces, access, landscape and facilities could serve those visitors. A year-round offer needs to suit the location, climate, audience and business model. We would test those assumptions with you and the relevant specialists before recommending major construction.

Hotels and resorts are central to our work, but our experience also includes tourism destinations, cultural attractions, waterfronts, commercial towers and mixed-use developments. We also take on branded apartments and distinctive residential projects where a hospitality approach adds value.

Tell us what you want the building to achieve. A hospitality designer can contribute more than a particular appearance: we consider arrival, comfort, privacy, shared amenities and the practical experience of using a place. We will explain where our experience fits your brief and which specialists the project needs.

Yes. Keer Tower in Hangzhou, at approximately 240 metres, and the 167,000 m² Haining Headquarters illustrate our experience beyond hotels. These projects bring architectural identity together with offices, retail and the demands of large commercial buildings.

For your project, we would look at usable space, circulation, the different occupiers and the relationship between the tower and its base. NBAX’s design experience and Galactic Group’s technical resources support coordinated development, with structural, fire, vertical-transport and local statutory specialists agreed around the specific brief.

A steep site can offer extraordinary views, but access, ground conditions, structure and the movement of people can drive both cost and complexity. We establish those constraints early with the relevant engineers and local team, so they inform the layout rather than forcing expensive changes later.

Our mountain-related work includes the Mühlenkopfliner cabin in Willingen and Kaihua Fish Museum in a remote mountain setting. At Kaihua, repeated façade components helped make an expressive design practical within limited local specialist knowledge and budget.

For your site, we would compare how different building positions, access routes and construction systems affect the experience and the effort of building and operating it. The aim is to work intelligently with the terrain and resources available.

Yes. We work on branded apartments and distinctive homes where our experience in hospitality can improve the way a property feels and functions. That might mean a more considered arrival, comfortable guest accommodation, shared amenities or details that make everyday living easier.

We start with who will live there, how the property will be operated and what the brand or owner needs it to deliver. For a branded development, we coordinate the residential experience with the wider identity and service offer. For a private home, the design should reflect your life rather than reproduce a hotel.

Yes. These are the projects where understanding the journey to the site can be as important as the buildings themselves. We look at access, terrain, climate, construction logistics and the practical needs of operating the destination.

We work with the relevant local, transport, engineering and environmental specialists to establish what is possible. The first task is to identify the constraints that could change the brief, rather than develop an elaborate concept before those questions are answered.

Tell us about the site and what you want to achieve. Our partnership with BACA Architects brings specialist experience in waterfront, floating and flood-resilient architecture alongside NBAX’s destination design work.

The right approach depends on the water conditions, ecology, access, engineering and local approvals. We help identify which studies and specialists are needed before a particular solution is chosen. The partnership and each party’s responsibilities would be defined for your project.