Achint Dhingra

Gcad/13/304
16 February, 2018

Overview of Architectural practice in India

Architecture is defined by social, cultural and political constraints that makes an architect
accountable to provide services to the society in a sensible manner. Professionalism is an important
component in a social setting. Understanding the responsibilities, ethics and liabilities of the
architecture profession is essential to practice in a socially responsible manner.
To maintain an agreement between the client and the architect, a non-judicial stamp paper signed
by the owner and the architect needs to be issued as an agreement. This agreement includes the
name of the project, scope of project, fees, time period and many other important factors to be
agreed upon in the beginning.
There are various stages of construction from the conceptualization of the project to the finalization
of the project that an Architect needs to take care throughout the project.
 Concept stage
 Preliminary stage
 Written approval by the client
 Working drawings
 Tenders are prepared and then floated
 Contractor is employed
 Construction stage
There are various certificates and safety checks from the government to ensure the safety of the
building for occupancy. An Occupancy certificate from the government is mandatory for
occupancy in the building after construction. The Electrical inspector ensures the safety of the
electric installations in the building by performing the required tests and checks.
The various stages of payment and services to be provided in lieu are decided:
 Retainer ship fee
 Fees for concept
 Preliminary stage
 Approval of the client
 Final construction
The documentation charges are incurred by the Architect. These include the set of drawings to be
issued to the client as well as the contractor on site.
An Architect is not allowed to get involved in direct marketing to promote his/her business but
always allowed to take part in various architectural competitions to achieve an identity in the
industry. The sole purpose of an architectural competition is to get the best viable projects of high
standard by giving a chance to almost every licensed architect as well as undergraduate students
at times.
There are different types of architectural competitions according to the requirement and scope of
the project:
 Ideas competition
 Open competition
 Limited competition
 Regional competition