Soft Landings and Closing the Building Performance Gap

For many years Soft Landings has been recognised as best practice for improving how buildings perform once occupied. Yet outside mandated public sector projects its uptake has remained limited. That position is now changing as clients face increasing scrutiny over how their assets perform in use rather than how they were designed to perform.

The historic reluctance to adopt Soft Landings reflects how it challenges traditional delivery models. It extends professional involvement beyond practical completion, focuses on operational outcomes and requires closer collaboration between designers, contractors and building operators. In a sector long driven by programme certainty and lowest initial cost, these principles have often been difficult to prioritise.

Cost perception has been a consistent barrier. The benefits of Soft Landings, including reduced defects, improved energy performance, better user experience and lower operational risk, tend to emerge after handover. For clients without a long term interest in an asset these benefits can appear remote. Conventional procurement structures also reinforce completion as the contractual endpoint, limiting incentives for post occupancy support or optimisation.

Another constraint has been the separation between project teams and those responsible for operating buildings. Soft Landings depends on early engagement with facilities management and end users, yet these voices have often been underrepresented during briefing and design. Without a strong operational perspective priorities can shift as projects come under cost or programme pressure.

The context in which buildings are delivered is now materially different. Client ESG commitments place greater emphasis on actual energy use, carbon emissions and occupant comfort. Performance is increasingly measured in operation, exposing the long standing gap between predicted and real outcomes. Soft Landings directly addresses this issue by maintaining continuity from design through occupation and using feedback to inform adjustment and optimisation.

Rising energy costs, net zero targets and more demanding disclosure requirements also reframe poor operational performance as a financial and reputational risk. For owner occupiers and long term asset holders Soft Landings is becoming a practical mechanism for managing that risk rather than an optional enhancement. Advances in digital monitoring and structured handover further support this shift by making performance visible and accountability achievable.

In this environment Soft Landings provides a clear route to closing the performance gap. It aligns design intent with operational reality and supports buildings to work as intended, not just at completion but throughout early occupation.

KJ Tait are well placed to support this approach through the combination of MEP engineering expertise, energy performance analysis and in house facilities management capability. Experience of Soft Landings delivery over several years allows design intent to be tested, refined and translated into practical operation. When combined with accredited performance frameworks such as NABERS UK this enables outcomes to be measured rather than assumed and supports clients in achieving demonstrable long term building performance.