General planning · HOAI LP 1–9 · one line of responsibility
One project. One fee. One hand.
A renovation needs a design, a structure, an energy concept, a permit and construction management. The usual arrangement is five contracts and five responsible parties, between whom you coordinate yourself. We think it the other way round: seven disciplines, one point of contact, one continuous responsibility — from the first sketch to handover of the keys. Keystone does not sell services. Keystone sells control over complexity.
General planning
Seven disciplines, one contract, one point of contact. Transparent, to the three-pillar calculation.
Disziplinen unter einem Dach
Konzept · Tragwerk · Bauphysik · Energieberatung · CO₂-Bilanz · Bauleitung
Partnerbüros
AKNW-Architekt · Tragwerks-, Energie- und DGNB-Partner im Netzwerk
LP 4 · Bauantrag
Genehmigungsplanung in Kooperation mit AKNW-Partner-Architekt
Erfahrung
10 Jahre Profession · 70+ Bauvorhaben · Konzept bis Bauleitung
Ablauf · 5 Schritte
From the sketch to handover — on a single line.
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Concept & needs
We clarify what you really want — use, budget, expectations, time horizon. HOAI LP 1. Before a line is drawn, the goal is set.
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Design & variant study
The architectural service: floor plans, massing, materiality, two to three considered variants. HOAI LP 2–3. This is where the character of the building takes shape.
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Structure, building physics, energy — integrated
Structure, thermal protection, sound and the energy concept arise within the design, not as a later requirement. No expensive corrections, no thermal bridges added afterwards.
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Permit
The building-application set and submission. HOAI LP 4 in cooperation with our AKNW partner architect — in substance on the basis of our design work. It remains a single point of contact nonetheless.
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Execution & construction management
Execution planning, tendering, construction management through to handover. HOAI LP 5–9. The same hand that planned carries the responsibility on the building site.
Anfrage · 5 Schritte
Anfrage in 30 Sekunden.
Fünf Fragen. Eine pro Schritt. Antwort persönlich von Robin Henn binnen 24 Stunden.
One hand. Seven disciplines. No interfaces at which responsibility disappears.
The questions every client asks before a larger project — answered plainly, before you commission us, in writing.
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01 Do I really need an architect, a structural engineer and an energy consultant separately for my conversion?
In substance you need all three disciplines — but not necessarily as three separate contracts. A renovation or conversion needs floor-plan and design planning (the architectural service), structural design (the structure), building physics and energy consultancy, and the permit. It is usual for the client to coordinate these four or five parties himself. As an interdisciplinary planning office we bundle them onto a single line of responsibility: one fee, one point of contact, from the first sketch to handover. The formal building-application submission (HOAI LP 4) runs, in doing so, in cooperation with an AKNW-registered partner architect. -
02 What is a general planner?
A general planner takes on the entire planning of a building project from one hand — instead of the client commissioning an architect, structural engineer, building physicist and energy consultant individually and coordinating them himself. The general planner is responsible for the interplay of all disciplines across all HOAI service phases 1 to 9. The advantage: a continuous responsibility instead of interfaces at which errors arise and no one is in charge. -
03 What does a general planner cost — is it more expensive than separate appointment?
As a rule, no. The general-planning fee follows the HOAI 2021 across all commissioned service phases and specialist disciplines — the same basis of assessment as separate appointment. The difference lies in the costs avoided: no friction losses at the interfaces, no expensive corrections because structure and design are coordinated, no weeks that the client coordinates himself. We calculate transparently to the three-pillar method, one fee for all disciplines. -
04 What does “from one hand” mean in practice?
It means: one contract instead of five, one point of contact instead of five, one responsibility instead of mutual blame. If the structure requires a change to the design, we resolve it internally — you learn the result, not the problem. If the energy consultancy affects the façade, that is already accounted for in the design. You speak with the person who plans, from the concept sketch to handover of the keys. -
05 Does Keystone do the architectural service itself?
Yes. Robin Henn is Dipl.-Ing., a civil engineer, and provides the design planning service — concept, design, variant study, execution planning — drawing on structural, building-physics and sustainability expertise. The only service reserved under professional law to members of the chamber of architects is the formal submission of the building application (HOAI LP 4). This runs in cooperation with an AKNW-registered partner architect — in substance on the basis of our design work. -
06 For which projects is general planning worthwhile?
Wherever several disciplines have to work together: a new single-family house, a complete energy renovation, an extension and storey addition, a conversion close to heritage constraints. The more complex the project and the higher the quality demanded, the greater the value of a continuous responsibility. For a single wall opening the structural engineering alone suffices — but as soon as floor plan, energy and permit are added, the single hand shows its advantage. -
07 Who is liable if something goes wrong between the trades?
With separate appointment that is precisely the weak point: the structural engineer points to the architect, the architect to the energy consultant, and the client is caught in the middle. With general planning the planning responsibility lies in one place — we are liable under § 280 BGB (the German Civil Code) for the planning service as a whole. Professional indemnity insurance to the standard of the profession secures this. No interface at which responsibility disappears.
Your project deserves a line of responsibility.
Describe your project to us — new build, renovation or conversion. We respond within 24 hours with substance, not with a pitch. A first consultation, without obligation, in confidence, at no fee.