DESIGN · PRICE · PROGRAMME
Clockwork connects design, price and programme in one live project state — so developers, contractors and project teams can test options, expose risk and choose a defensible route forward.
The Department for Education's Construction Framework 2025 (CF25) is an £18.5bn route for schools and further education across England. It rewards teams who can decide quickly, compile compliant submissions, and explain every change to floor area, quantity, cost and funding.
Parametric study — building form
Four envelopes tested against one school brief — square, rectangle, circular and L-shaped — compared on the same basis before any scheme was priced.
A revised brief, site discovery or design update can affect geometry, quantities, cost, sequencing, programme and approvals.
Project problems rarely begin with a dramatic mistake. They can build slowly through fragmented communication, conflicting priorities, weak ownership or limited visibility.
Traditional multidisciplinary project teams bring together expertise from many disciplines, but recognising, understanding or acting on the consequences of change often requires multiple rounds of communication, coordination, review and revision. Depending on project complexity, this process can take several weeks or months.
During that time, projects continue to evolve. Unmanaged change often results in:
DESIGN · PRICE · PROGRAMME
The greatest opportunity to improve a project exists before construction begins
Solution-focused engineering across the project life cycle
Clockwork can apply your concept to develop design, price and programme in alignment, creating a live project state that continues to evolve as new information becomes available.
Deliverables can be generated when the project needs them – not only at formal stage milestones. Whether you need a single output, an independent verification, or a coordinated package, the project state can be updated without starting the process again.
We challenge early assumptions and test viable permutations and combinations of design, price and programme against the long-term project goals.
When the consequence of change is understood early, better projects naturally emerge. By revealing multiple viable futures before construction begins, Clockwork helps you compare options, make better decisions and commit to the strongest route forward with confidence.
Clockwork can evaluate design geometry, pricing information and programme logic against the same project baseline using our proprietary in-house technology.
We maintain a single, coordinated view of the project as changes emerge and decisions are explored, allowing viable solutions to be tested against their wider impact.
Your project is not treated as disconnected drawings, estimates and programmes. It is maintained as one live project state, where a change in one element is reflected simultaneously across design, price and programme as the project evolves.
Working with Clockwork gives you greater clarity and confidence when critical project decisions need to be made.
Four stages, one connected method — the work Clockwork does across a project.
01
Analyse the alternatives, quantify the risk and make a defensible engineering decision before anything is committed.
02
Decide what to bid, price it with evidence, and normalise scope before it is committed.
03
Turn early uncertainty into defined investigations, specifications and packages that can actually be priced and bought.
04
Keep delivery controlled — from triage and forecasting to claims, quality and evidence.
Bring us the option, constraint or change. We will show its effect across design, price and programme.
We are not constrained by a single discipline. We work across design, price and programme together, because projects do not operate in silos. This method helps clients make decisions in the best interests of the project as a whole.
Recommendations are supported by engineering evidence, not assumption. Decisions should be transparent, explainable and able to stand up to scrutiny.
Technology helps us explore possibilities, but critical project decisions remain grounded in professional engineering judgement, experience and accountability.
Our work aligns with established construction standards, including Eurocodes, NRM2 and Uniclass, helping recommendations integrate naturally with existing design, commercial and delivery processes.
Design & Build projects require constant trade-offs between engineering, programme and commercial priorities. Clockwork helps you evaluate those competing demands together and make confident decisions before they become difficult or expensive to change.
From residential developments and commercial projects to nationally significant infrastructure, Clockwork supports complex projects where engineering decisions carry significant commercial and delivery consequences.
Founder, Benjamin Smith
Originally from Australia, Ben Smith is a Chartered Engineer with more than 20 years’ experience delivering complex construction and infrastructure projects across the UK and internationally.
His career has included landmark developments such as Google’s UK Headquarters, South Quay Plaza and Edinburgh St James, giving him a broad perspective across design, construction, commercial engineering and project delivery.
Clockwork was founded on a simple belief: the best project decisions come from understanding the relationship between design, price and programme—not from considering each in isolation.
Today, Ben helps developers, contractors and project teams make confident engineering decisions before they become expensive to change.
Clockwork supports both established and emerging methods of construction with the same engineering rigour applied to conventional projects.
Clockwork is a small senior team — the people who scope your project are the ones who deliver it.
Project Manager
Sarah manages Clockwork’s technical, commercial and programme workstreams, keeping milestones, risks and decisions visible from start to finish. Her background spans publicly funded research, healthcare and commercial operations, and she holds that the quality of a decision depends on the quality of the information behind it.
Project Engineer
Evan supports design development and risk analysis at Clockwork while completing his Civil Engineering master’s at Exeter — a research project sponsored by the practice. He has contributed to the risk assessment and ground model behind a live central London scheme.
How we prove it — one governed example per product.
Marine infrastructureConfidential Offshore InfrastructureChoosing the installation system before mobilisation
Stadium / leisureStadium, Saudi ArabiaEngineering an international competition-winning proposal
Healthcare / researchEllison Institute for Transformational MedicineTurning early-stage ground risk into procurement-ready construction packages
Commercial / basementBelgrove HouseUsing advanced analysis to unlock a faster, lower-cost construction solutionLet’s discuss the project, the constraint and what needs to change.
