The first question is not whether occupants can tolerate dust. It is whether the programme can maintain essential functions without crossing the site’s working routes. When that is not possible, we say so before beginning. Poorly designed cohabitation slows the work and exhausts everyone.
Divide the work into genuinely independent zones
Useful phasing is not a matter of moving tools from one room to another. Each zone must be capable of being isolated, supplied and handed over before the next is opened. For a prestige renovation, we define access, protection, storage and occupants’ routes from the planning stage.
Water or power shutdowns, noisy operations and work in circulation areas are grouped and announced. Refuge rooms remain outside the site. This organisation may take longer than a vacant property; it must appear in the sequence rather than be absorbed by daily promises.
Contain dust and protect what remains
Temporary partitions, suitable extraction, cleaning and floor protection form one continuous system. A door left ajar is enough to undo hours of preparation. In an occupied building, common areas and relations with neighbours extend that system, especially in Monaco, where collective organisation is decisive.
A discreet site is not a silent site. It is a site where every disturbance has a known limit.
Set decisions before each phase
Living near the work creates more opportunities to change a detail during execution. We nevertheless keep the same hold points: approval of drawings, materials and samples before installation. This discipline protects the programme and the coherence of the finishes.
When cohabitation is realistic, we record it in a shared protocol. When safety, services or the configuration rule it out, temporary vacancy remains the right decision. Bespoke work also means setting that limit, whether for finishing work in Nice or a complete renovation.
