SpecStudio, an independent team of architectural specification consultants and writers, is expanding its specification consulting and NBS Chorus support services for architectural practices across the UK and internationally, as demand grows for structured, digitally coordinated specification documentation.

The expansion responds to a shift in how practices approach specification writing. As BIM-led delivery and golden thread information requirements become standard across the sector, specifications are increasingly expected to function as structured digital assets rather than documents produced at the end of the design process.

Addressing a Growing Pressure Point

For many architectural practices, specification writing has become a capacity problem rather than a knowledge problem. The work is detail-intensive and time-consuming, and it routinely competes with design deadlines, planning submissions, and client commitments — leaving it compressed into the final stages before tender issue.

That compression carries real project risk: ambiguity over design responsibility, gaps that emerge as contractor queries on site, and specifications that fall out of step with the design model.

SpecStudio's model is built to remove that pressure without removing control. Practices using NBS Chorus invite the SpecStudio team into their own workspace via NBS Chorus Pro, meaning the specification content remains within the practice's environment throughout. Practices retain full ownership of their specifications, issue final documents under their own stylesheets, and can edit and reuse the content long after project completion.

Format Flexibility Across CAWS, Uniclass and CSI MasterFormat

SpecStudio has developed its own specification Masters across all major formats — CAWS, Uniclass and CSI MasterFormat — alongside bespoke A-Sections, PM Sections and Work Sections designed to complement standard NBS content.

That flexibility supports practices delivering into different markets and procurement environments, including those managing migration from CAWS to Uniclass without compromising existing content quality.

The Uniclass format is used by a number of leading architectural practices. HOK's Gateshead Quays project applied Uniclass 2015 as part of the transformation of an industrial area into a recreational and cultural hub.

International Delivery

SpecStudio's specification consultants have supported practices delivering projects internationally, including the Royal Diriyah Opera House in Saudi Arabia and Harcourt Square in Dublin.

Quote — SpecStudio

"Specification writing is often the last thing to get proper attention and the first thing to cause problems on site. What's changed is that practices no longer see outsourcing it as giving something up. Working inside a practice's own NBS Chorus workspace means they keep complete ownership of the document — we're effectively an extension of their team rather than an external supplier producing something they can't touch again."

Service Tiers

SpecStudio offers tiered service levels designed to scale from a basic specification through to a comprehensive design package, alongside specification reviews, specification training, and Technical Requirements Specification (TRS) support.

Further information is available at https://specstudio.com/services/

About SpecStudio

SpecStudio is an independent team of architectural specification writers and consultants supporting practices across the UK and internationally. The team has supported NBS Chorus users since 2021 and prepares specifications in CAWS, Uniclass and CSI MasterFormat at every stage of the design process, from outline through to tender. SpecStudio's specifications support the creation of the golden thread of building information, providing clear digital information for a building's design and construction.

Website: https://specstudio.com