Plate 40 / 106
Atlas of SolutionsÉdition 2026FR · EN
Nyon · Paris
Solutions/4 client profiles/One engagement form per profile

Solutionsby client profile.

We work with the envelope industry from four entry points. Institutional owner or investor, architecture practice, general or total contractor, facade contractor : each profile carries its own stakes and calls for a distinct engagement form. Here is, profile by profile, what we do for you and how we enter the conversation.

FIG. 014 profiles · 1 atelierOwners · InvestorsOwner's EngineerArchitectsDesign peerGC · TCDirect facade s/cFacade specialistsBusiness Eng.S&Patelier
Four client profiles, owner, architect, GC/TC, facade specialistEN.040
01 / 06Four entry points, one envelope engineering and business advisory atelier.
Atelier Shili & Partners
04profiles
Owners · Architects · GC/TC · Specialists
02poles
Envelope Eng. · Business Eng.
02grounds
project · company
00affil.
manufacturer · system supplier · editor
§ TLDR · 01Owners · protect value.
§ TLDR · 02Archi · protect intent.
§ TLDR · 03GC/TC · protect margin.
§ TLDR · 04Specialists · move up-market.
01· Plate — positioning

Positioning.

An envelope engineering atelier and business advisory practice. Two inseparable poles, two client groups : those who commission or design a building, and those who build it or make their living from the envelope industry.

§ 01Project side, two inseparable poles.

We are an envelope engineering and business advisory atelier. Two inseparable poles, Envelope Engineering for the project, Business Engineering for the company, cover on one side those who commission or design a building, and on the other side the companies that build it or make their living from the envelope industry.

§ 02Owners and contractors, two engagement logics.

Owners, investors and architects engage us on the project, to secure design intent, budget, and forthcoming regulatory compliance. General contractors, total contractors and facade contractors engage us on both the project and the company, to hold a demanding package, prepare a bid response, or structure an industrial transformation.

§ Structural equation
Project side : Envelope Engineering. Company side : Business Engineering. The client picks the entry point, the atelier mobilises both poles as the context demands.
02· Plate — four profiles

Four profiles, four engagements.

Each profile carries a dominant pain that calls for a distinct engagement stance. Here is, profile by profile, what we do and how we enter the conversation.

01Owners
Investors

Owners and Investors.

Anticipate the regulatory shock, secure the envelope scope of an acquisition or a new build.

Real estate funds, family offices, commercial real estate funds, institutional developers, public and para-public owners. The dominant issue today : anticipate the energy and carbon regulatory shock that will redefine the residual value of the entire European tertiary stock by 2030. The recurring second issue : secure the envelope scope of an acquisition, new build or deep retrofit, a technically complex package, a package that concentrates financial risk, a package where project direction is rarely staffed in-house.

We operate as Owner's Engineer (trusted-third-party orchestration on the owner side), deliver systemic diagnostics (envelope due diligence, pre-acquisition or pre-investment), and step in as a direct-contract specialist facade engineering firm when the project configuration calls for it.

Profile
Funds · Family offices · REITs · Public owners
Horizon
Acquisition · New build · Deep retrofit
Owner's Eng.Due diligenceDirect facade eng.
02Architecture
practices

Architects.

Protect design intent, translate concept into industrial reality, advise during competition phases.

Signature architecture practices, high-end studios, mandating architects on large-scale projects. The dominant pain remains the destruction of design intent by late value engineering, reveals that thicken, signature material replaced, geometry rationalised to the point of banality. Then come the translation of concept into industrial reality (gap between the 3D rendering and what European supply chains will actually fabricate), the tension between energy requirements and architectural writing, and the need for facade advice during competition phases when the engineering budget does not yet exist.

We operate as a design peer, Lead Envelope Consultant under the mandating architect, flash diagnostic on competitive phases, early advisory on SOTA verticals to mobilise. The stance is invariant : we protect your project, never step in front of you.

Profile
Signature practices · High-end studios
Stance
Design peer, never in front
Lead Envelope Cons.Flash diagnosticCompetition advisory
03General · Total
Contractors

General and Total Contractors.

Secure the facade package P&L from tender phase through handover.

Swiss and European general and total contractors operating on high-end tertiary projects, signature residential, complex public works. The economic reality is stable : the facade package concentrates the bulk of financial and contractual risks on a tertiary site. Approximate pricing at tender, unreliable subcontractors on technically demanding systems, execution drift on shell-facade interfaces, claims at the end of the job, each of these risks materialises in six-figure amounts per operation.

We step in as a direct specialist facade engineering firm, to secure the facade package P&L from tender phase through handover. Industrial shadow pricing at bid stage, technical evaluation of shortlisted subcontractors, contract management over the duration of the site, site supervision on the envelope package.

Profile
GC · TC, Switzerland and Europe
Scope
Tender → handover
Direct s/cShadow pricingSite supervision
04Facade
contractors

Specialist Facade Companies.

High-end move, digital transformation, transition management, recovery.

Facade contractors, architectural metal contractors, glass envelope contractors and processors, system suppliers, envelope component manufacturers. Owner-managers of these companies engage us on issues distinct from the project : a blocked high-end move, margin erosion on commodity curtain wall packages, digital lag on the bid-to-factory cycle, a capacity break on a project more complex than usual, or a recovery situation calling for an immediate external frame.

Our [Business Engineering](/en/business-engineering/) pole has been structured for these cases. Growth & Market Expansion, Transformation & Change Management, Transition Management (Operating Partner, Venture Catalyst), interventions are calibrated to the size of the company and the nature of the pain.

Profile
Facade · Metal · Glass · System suppliers
Pole engaged
Business Engineering
GrowthTransformationTransition
03· Plate — three operational grounds

Our practice, on three grounds.

We work on three grounds that overlap depending on the mission. A single client often moves from one to another over time.

01 / 03Project ground

The envelope project.

Technical engineering, design integrity, project economics, carbon strategy, DFMA and file-to-factory, procurement, site direction.

Lead EnvelopeDFMAProcurement
See Envelope Engineering
02 / 03Company ground

The envelope company.

Growth & Market Expansion, Digital & AI Transformation, Restructuring & Turnaround, Reorganisation & M&A, Operating Partner, Venture Catalyst.

GrowthTransformationTransition
See Business Engineering
03 / 03SOTA specialties

The vertical specialties.

Smart skin, structural glass and jumbo glazing, BIPV, blast engineering, anti-intrusion, textile membranes, circular economy and urban mining, facade failure forensic.

Smart skinBIPVForensic
See SOTA Expertises
§ Contractual equation
The forms of contracting, Owner's Engineer, Lead Envelope Consultant, Design-Build consortium, joint venture, strategic retainer, are described under engagement modes.
04· Plate — continue reading

Continue reading.

This profile read connects with our other entry points and services. A single context often calls for several combined entry doors.

01 / 08Owner profile

For Owners and Investors.

Owner profile : value protection, asset engineering, independent audits.

Owner's Eng.Due diligenceDirect
See this page
02 / 08Architect profile

For Architects.

Architect profile : design intent protection, design integrity, technical mastery.

Lead EnvelopeDesign integritySOTA
See this page
03 / 08GC profile

For General Contractors.

GC profile : facade-package steering, margin protection, P&L hedging.

TenderExecutionHandover
See this page
04 / 08Facade contractor profile

For Facade Specialists.

Facade contractor profile : growth, transformation, transition, high-end move.

GrowthTransfoTransition
See this page
05 / 08Tech pole

Envelope Engineering practice.

Our complete envelope engineering discipline, from concept to punch list.

Lead EnvelopeBECxProcurement
See the practice
06 / 08Biz pole

Business Engineering practice.

Strategic and operational advisory for envelope companies.

GrowthTransfoTransition
See the practice
07 / 08Expertises pole

SOTA Expertises.

Our state-of-the-art specialties on risk- or signature-grade typologies.

Smart skinBIPVForensic
See the expertises
08 / 08Contractual modes

Engagement modes.

The contractual grid : Owner's Engineer, Lead Envelope Consultant, Design-Build consortium, joint venture.

Owner's Eng.Lead EnvelopeJV
See the modes

Let's talk about your project.

Describe your role and your context in a few lines, who you are, which project or which company you are carrying, what motivates the exchange. We come back to you with an initial read, before any commercial proposal.

Describe the context
Shili & PartnersA Shili Build Ventures company