B.Arch CurriculumFree, forever
A tribute to Amogh N P
Building Codes and Regulations
Design is freedom inside a fence. Every building in India sits inside a cage of rules — how much you may build (FSI), how far you must stand back (setbacks), how you must let people out if it burns (NBC Part 4), how a wheelchair must be able to enter (the Harmonised Guidelines), and who is even allowed to sign the drawings (the Architects Act). This course is the map of that cage: the National Building Code and where it actually applies, the local bye-laws that really bind, the fire and accessibility standards that save lives, and the sanction process that turns a design into a building the law will let you occupy.
Course byAmogh N P· Architect & interior designer
The syllabus
5 units · 5 liveTranscribed from the official B.Arch syllabus. All 5 units are live as full interactive lessons, each with original diagrams, a self-assessment quiz and a studio task.
Unit 1 — Why Codes Exist & the Framework
LiveWhy building codes exist; the National Building Code of India 2016 (SP 7) and its eleven Parts; the all-important distinction that the NBC is recommendatory and binds only when adopted; Development Control Regulations and building bye-laws; the Model Building Bye-Laws 2016; the role of the planning authority/ULB; and RERA 2016.
Unit 2 — Development Control Parameters
LiveThe numbers that shape the buildable envelope — Floor Space Index (FSI/FAR), ground coverage, front/side/rear setbacks and the building line, height limits and their link to road width, premium FSI and TDR, open-space and parking (ECS) standards — and why they are LOCAL and vary city to city.
Unit 3 — Fire & Life Safety (NBC Part 4)
LiveOccupancy classification (Groups A–I); the high-rise threshold (≥15 m); egress design — occupant load, the 500 mm unit exit width, travel distance and number of stairs; compartmentation and fire-resistance ratings; refuge areas (above 24 m) and pressurisation; and active systems — wet/dry risers, down-comers, hydrants and sprinklers — by height and occupancy.
Unit 4 — Accessibility, Structure & Energy
LiveUniversal accessibility — the RPwD Act 2016 and the Harmonised Guidelines 2021 (which superseded 2016), ramps (1:12), accessible toilets and lifts; structural safety (NBC Part 6) and seismic design (IS 1893, zones II–V); sanitation provisioning (NBC Part 9); and energy codes — ECBC 2017 (commercial) and Eco-Niwas Samhita 2018 (residential).
Unit 5 — Approvals & Professional Duty
LiveWho may submit plans (the Architects Act 1972 and COA); the sanction workflow from application to Occupancy Certificate; online single-window OBPS; deviations and regularisation; the roles of structural and site engineers; penalties for unauthorised construction; environmental clearance (EIA 2006, ≥20,000 m²); and heritage and CRZ layers.
Course outcomes
What you will be able to doExplain the regulatory framework — NBC, bye-laws, DCR and RERA — and where each binds.
Apply development-control parameters: FSI, ground coverage, setbacks, height and parking.
Apply NBC Part 4 fire and life-safety requirements to a building by occupancy and height.
Apply accessibility, structural and energy-compliance standards.
Navigate the sanction process and the professional and legal duties of the architect.
Read a project against the full stack of codes and clearances that govern it.
The author
Amogh N P
Architect, interior designer, and creative polymath. Studio Matrx began in his notebooks — his vision of design made honest, useful, and open to everyone. Its Academy is written and taught in his memory, and free, forever.
More about Amogh →Design is freedom inside a fence.
The National Building Code, the local bye-laws, fire safety, accessibility and the sanction process. Read the five units, study the diagrams, then test yourself.
The curriculum is free, forever