Amogh N P
✦ In loving memory of Amogh N P — Architect · Designer · Visionary ✦
B.Arch Curriculum · Semester 7 · Practice

Professional Practice

An architect is not only a designer but a registered professional, an agent of the client, a certifier of work and an officer of the law. This course is the business, law and ethics of practice. It begins with the profession itself — the architect's role in society, the Council of Architecture, the code of conduct, and the scale of fees that turns service into a livelihood. It then covers the legislation that governs every building, the tender and contract that turn a design into a built reality, the easements and arbitration that resolve disputes, and the architectural competitions that win the best work. Where the Project Cost & Contract Management elective looks at contracts from the manager's side, this course looks at practice from the architect's.

5Units
6Outcomes
4Credits
FreeForever
Start with Unit I All student courses
Unit I · The profession itself

Profession, Services & Fees

To practise architecture is to take on a professional ROLE — agent of the client, coordinator of consultants, certifier of the contractor's work, and an officer bound by a code of conduct. This unit covers that role and its relationships; the Council of Architecture (COA) that registers architects and enforces the code; the running of an architect's office and elementary accountancy; the conditions of engagement and the four classes of service — normal, additional, special and partial; and the SCALE OF FEES that converts professional service into a livelihood, with how and when fees are claimed. Use the scale-of-fees calculator.

COA & codeConditions of engagementNormal/partial servicesScale of feesFees calculator
Open the unit

The syllabus

Five units, from the profession to the competition.

Transcribed 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.

1

Unit 1 — Profession, Services & Fees

Live

The architect's role in society and relationship with client and contractor; the Council of Architecture and the code of conduct; the management of an architect's office and elementary accountancy; the conditions of engagement; normal, additional, special and partial services; the scale of fees and the claiming of fees.

CO1CO3CO4
2

Unit 2 — Legislation

Live

The Architects Act 1972 and recent regulations; development control rules (CMDA and Tamil Nadu); hill-area and coastal-area development and management (CRZ); the heritage framework — INTACH, ASI and the role of the urban arts commission; and approval from the authority for sanction of building plans and permits under the bye-laws, master plan and local-body Acts.

CO1CO2
3

Unit 3 — Tender & Contract

Live

Calling for tenders and tender documents; open and closed tenders; item-rate, lump-sum, labour and demolition tenders; the conditions of tender, submission, scrutiny and recommendation; and the conditions of contract — the form of contract, the articles of agreement and the architect's certification of the contractor's bills.

CO2CO5
4

Unit 4 — Easements & Arbitration

Live

Easements — definition, types, acquisition, extinction and protection; and arbitration in disputes — the arbitration agreement, the sole arbitrator and umpire, excepted matters and the award, under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996.

CO5
5

Unit 5 — Architectural Competitions

Live

Open and closed competitions; the appointment and duties of assessors; instructions to participants; the rejection of entries and the award of premium; and the guidelines prescribed by the Council of Architecture (COA) and the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) for the promotion and conduct of competitions.

CO6

Course outcomes

What you should be able to do after completing all five units (CO1–CO6, from the syllabus).

1
Understand

Gain knowledge of the role of professional and statutory bodies.

2
Understand

Become familiar with the process involved in an architectural project.

3
Understand

Gain knowledge of the scale of services and fees for an architect.

4
Understand

Understand the code of conduct and ethical values of the profession.

5
Apply

Apply knowledge of tender and contract.

6
Apply

Apply the rules of participation and award in an architectural competition.

Topics follow the published B.Arch syllabus (L2 · T0 · S3; 200 marks). Every diagram is original Studio Matrx work. Where the Project Cost & Contract Management elective looks at contracts from the manager's side (FIDIC, earned value), this course takes the architect's-practice / COA / legal-duty angle. The building-code and FSI detail lives in the Building Codes course.

A designer, an agent, and an officer of the law.

The profession and fees, legislation, tender and contract, arbitration and competitions. Read the five units, study the diagrams, then test yourself.

Open Unit I Back to Students

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