ARCHITECTURAL

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
UNIT-02

HINDU COLLEGE OF DESIGN, ARCHITECTURE & PLANNING

By:
AR.NAVEEN KUMAR
Assistant professor,
HINDU COLLEGE OF 01
DESIGN, ARCHITECTURE
& PLANNING
GUIDELINES FOR ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITIONS PRESCRIBED BY
COUNCIL OF ARCHITECTURE
Architectural competitions as prescribed by Council ofArchitecture
➢Architectural Competitions have a long history, and have produced many extremely successful buildings. They attract
great public interest, and have led to the discovery of new talent and new ideas, that could only be found by
throwing an architectural project wide open to competition.
➢The Council of Architecture Competition Guidelines provide a new up to date code that safeguards the interests of
promoters and of architects, and bring the system into line with present-day conditions

➢To many clients - the choice of an architect presents no difficulty, but to many others the choice is not easy. The
client's desire to see the sketch designs of several architects before he commissions him , is understandable, but to
ask an architect to submit a sketch design is to ask him to do the essential creative work for which he should be
properly paid.
➢ If more than one or two architects are commissioned payment to each would be expensive. Architects, however,
are allowed to compete against each other without charging a fee in an open architectural competition held under
Council of Architecture Guidelines

➢Competition Guidelines as laid by the Council of Architecture protects and safeguards the interest of both the
promoter and the competitors. While ensuring the promoter a design of high standard, it also ensures that each
competitor competes on like conditions and within the same limitations

➢Architectural Competitions give the promoters a choice from the best viable project of high standard with a variety
of approaches. Competition brings out a wide range of ideas and concepts and gives the promoter the choice of
selecting that which fits into his specific requirements. One of the principal aims of the competition is to explore
hidden talents among younger Architects. To many competitors, it often is the first step to a successful career.

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➢The guidelines therefore lay considerable emphasis on the mandatory requirement of Assessors and the
qualifications.
➢The appointment of the Assessors should therefore be the immediate and first step the moment the promoter
decides to go in for a competition.

➢The Council of Architecture, if so requested by the promoter, may suggest a panel of names experienced in this type
of project proposed, for appointment as Assessors. Their responsibilities commence with the approval of the brief of
the competition project. The Assessor may even help to prepare the brief.

➢The Assessors (or the Senior Assessor) will: 1. Assist in the preparation and approval of the brief. 2. Study and
understand the requirements of the Local Authorities 3. Visit and examine the project site, if necessary. 4. Advise on
the appointment of the Technical Advisers, if necessary. 5. Finalise the competition conditions. 6. Prepare the final
report/award

➢The project brief is the most important document. The success of the competition will depend upon the clarity and
the completeness of the brief. This can be achieved by a very close cooperation between the Promoters and the
Assessors (or the Senior Assessor) in the preparation and finalization of the brief

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Types of competitions

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 ARCHITECTURAL FIRM ORGANIZATION AND LEGAL/FINANCIAL
STRUCTURES: PROPRIETORSHIP, PARTNERSHIP, ASSOCIATESHIP AND
PRIVATE LIMITED CONCERNS
 Types of Architectural firms
➢An architectural firm or architecture firm is a company which employs one or more Liscenced Architects and practices
the profession of architecture. It was only in the 19th century that architecture began to be practiced as a full-time
profession. An architecture firm usually has at least one "principal," a licensed architect who is the Sole Proprietor of the
firm, or one who shares an ownership interest with the other architects in the firm (either as a partner in a partnership, or
as a shareholder in a corporation).
➢Sometimes the title of principal is limited to owners who hold a certain percentage of ownership interest in a firm, or it
may be expanded to include anyone with a leadership role in a firm. Some firms may also use the title "principal-in-
charge," which denotes an architect who oversees the firm's services in connection with a specific project

➢Small firms with fewer than 5 people usually have no formal organizational structure, depending on the personal
relationships of the principals and employees to organize the work. Medium-sized firms with 5 to 50 employees are often
organized departmentally in departments such as design, production, business development, and construction
administration. Large firms of over 50 people may be organized departmentally, regionally, or in studios specializing in
project types. Other permutations also exist.
➢However, most firms consist of fewer than ten people-and many architects (like doctors) practice in one- or two-person
offices. Many larger firms do not design individual houses. Smaller firms are often in a better position to handle your needs
if you are contemplating a residential or small-scale commercial project

➢Advances in InfoTech. have made it possible for some firms to open offices or establish alliances with other firms in
different parts of the world. It is important to note that increasingly developers in India and China are hiring US and
European firms to work on local developments. This is often coordinated or sub- contracted by architecture firms in these
countries - in effect outsourcing work to the US and European firms

➢A firm might be composed of a variety of individuals at different points in their careers, but if they are all heading in the
same direction, then their diversity becomes strength. Each employee and boss agrees on where the firm is heading and
what is of value. There might be Pragmatists, Poets, Artists, and Builders. Or whatever combination of archetypes. What
matters is the direction of the vectors. All agree that the goal of the firm and the body of work point towards the same
shared firm vision. 7
 Partnership firm
➢A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.
The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or
combinations thereof. Partnerships present the involved parties with special challenges that must be navigated unto
agreement. Overarching goals, levels of give-and- take, areas of responsibility, lines of authority and succession, how
success is evaluated and distributed, and often a variety of other factors must all be negotiated.
➢Once agreement is reached, the partnership is typically enforceable by civil law, Partners who wish to make their
agreement affirmatively explicit and enforceable typically draw up Articles of Partnership to be made public, such as
through a press release, a newspaper ad, or public records laws. to be made public, such as through a press release, a
newspaper ad, or public records laws.

➢The major disadvantage of partnership is the unlimited liability of partners for the debts and liabilities of the firm. Any
partner can bind the firm and the firm is liable for all liabilities incurred by any firm on behalf of the firm. If property of
partnership firm is insufficient to meet liabilities, personal property of any partner can be attached to pay the debts of the
firm. A written agreement is advisable to establish existence of partnership and to prove rights and liabilities of each
partner, as it is difficult to prove an oral agreement. Number of Partners is minimum 2 and maximum 50 in any kind of
business activities
CORPORATE FIRM
➢A Corporate Firm / corporation, is a company or group of people authorized to act as a single entity (legally a person)
and recognized as such in law. & your company’s stock would be traded by the public on an exchange . A corporation is, at
least in theory, owned and controlled by its members. In a joint- stock company the members are known as shareholders
and each of their shares in the ownership, control and profits of the corporation is determined by the portion of shares in
the company that they own.
➢Registered corporations have legal personality and are owned by shareholders whose liability is limited to their
investment. Shareholders do not typically actively manage a corporation; shareholders instead elect or appoint a board of
directors to control the corporation in a fiduciary capacity. Corporations can be "dissolved" either by statutory operation,
order of court, or voluntary action on the part of shareholders.
➢Insolvency may result in a form of corporate failure, when creditors force the liquidation and dissolution of the
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corporation under court order.
 Private Company;
➢A private company can be a corporation, a limited liability company, a partnership, or a sole proprietorship, as long as
the shares are privately held and not traded publicly. Private companies don't need shareholder approval for operational
and growth strategy decisions made by the company, as long as that is stated in their corporate documents.

Public Company
➢Public companies must inform shareholders about and get approval for the company's operations, financial performance,
management actions, and other decisions.

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PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING CLIENT
BASE AND GAINING PROJECTS
 ROLE OF ARCHITECTS IN MARKETING
Architects gain popularity through marketing their works to the public. They bid new works and designs based on the
creativity developed in the form of buildings. This helps in developing their career.
As a result, you need some marketing strategies for architecture firms. Your marketing will expose you to people who
become interested in your company based on the information you present. Less direct than sales, marketing allows
you to build your brand and inform potential clients.
Marketing strategies are actions that firms use to achieve their marketing objectives. This section should state what
you are going to do and how you are going to reach your marketing objectives. List out the marketing methods you
use, how much money and time you are willing to spend on each of the methods. Describe how you are intending to
rely on advertising or networking. You should also list out the reasons why you are choosing this marketing strategy,
because if the strategy doesn't work for your firm, you can track down what went wrong. How are you going to utilize
your company's resources to market you services? List out every employee and their job description. Then try to find
out how you can improve their job quality to help the firm's images. Are there other ways to expand your service area?
Some architectural firms expand their service into contracting, and some promote their services into facility
management.
There are many marketing strategies used by different architectural firms, and each strategy should have its own
characteristics and methods in order to stand out from the rest of the competitors. Stay clear on your company's
mission and marketing objectives at all times while figuring out your marketing strategy. For example, if your
marketing objective is to focus your services on housing design, do not spend your marketing efforts responding to
school projects. Remember that it is impossible to satisfy all the unlimited market demands with your limited
resources.

M ARKETING BUDGET It is hard to say what amount of funds used for a marketing budget is appropriate. The amount
varies from firm to firm, client type to client type, and building type to building type. However, according to recent
research, most business organizations spend about 5 to 7 percent of their company's annual budget to marketing
activities But new firms may need to spend more to stimulate and generate their market and clients. The
implementation and media selection should be spelled out on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. Like everything
else in the plan, be prepared to modify this, but only after a reasonable time has elapsed to evaluate results.
Compensation details for the employees who are involved in marketing should be spelled out.
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 SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENTS
In this portion, you would spell out who is going to do what and when. The most effective way to accomplish this is to
present the plan draft to your key employees as a group (remember: every employee is somewhat involved in marketing,
especially in smaller architectural firms). Make sure that specific dates are set for the completion of each marketing
activity.
For example, you might want to set a completion date for your marketing
brochure or schedule who should call your clients on specific dates, etc.
IM PLEM ENTATIONS AND CONTROLS
Implementing a marketing strategy requires constant evaluation and control of the course of the strategy. You may do an
excellent job of writing a marketing plan, but only to put the book away and never check back. If you have the problem in
implementing the marketing plan, perhaps you should find a partner who is more result orientated or employ someone to
do the job for you. Review your marketing information quarterly— not just the strategies or tactics described in the plan,
but all the data. Is the competitive information still accurate, reflecting the current situation? Will new products cause you
to change your marketing mix? Was the basic strategy based on incomplete or inaccurate data? Modify the data, then
modify the strategy.

The design to the construction process also includes the following

responsibilities for the architect:
Clarification of the details of design with the construction team
The design can be redesigned if necessary. This can also bring change to
the scope in order to satisfy any rules or regulations
Certification to know that the work has been completed in the correct
manner
The role of architect from the construction process to the maintenance will insist the architect to handover an owner’s
manual that will have recommendations for the future maintenance and repairs.
It is not a practice everywhere, but there are architects who offers such a facility. The architect has to be contacted in
future if any issues arise, and it’s the duty of the architect to be available when needed.
The responsibilities of the architectural engineer are somewhat similar to that of structural engineer. The difference is that
the architects take more effort on how the building looks and its aesthetics, while the structural engineer focus on the
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construction type and durability of the structure. But both have a common goal of bringing a well-structured building.
TAXES AND IMPLICATIONS OF SERVICE TAX. IMPLICATION OF GATS ON
THE PROFESSION IN INDIA
ACCOUNTING METHODS, SERVICE TAX & GATS:

Cash Receipts and Disbursements Method of Accounting Generally, architects and landscape architects are permitted to
select the cash or accrual methods of accounting. They are not permitted to use the completed contract method of
accounting or the percentage-of- completion method of accounting.

Generally, the "cash method" of accounting is an acceptable method of accounting. However, there are limitations on when
this method can be used.

The general rule requires an item to be included in income (whether in the form of cash, property or services) in the
taxable year when actually or constructively received and permits a deduction for an expense in the taxable year when
paid. However, if an expenditure results in the creation of an asset having a useful life which extends substantially beyond
the close of such taxable year, such expenditure may not be deductible, or may be deductible only in part, for the taxable
year in which made.

Income may be actually or constructively received. If the taxpayer receives a check from a customer in Year 1 but does not
deposit or cash it until Year 2, it is included in income in Year 1, when actually received. Constructive receipt occurs when
the taxpayer has the unrestricted access to income that has been earned.

ACCOUNTING METHODS:

Architectural firms need to have good records due to possible litigation; but more importantly, they need to know the
status and profitability of each job that they work on to make good business decisions.
Therefore, the job files and other records are normally well kept. Missing or incomplete job files are strong indicators of
possible unreported income, which would require an expansion of the audit

In India, Professional tax is imposed by various states. It is imposed on business owners, working individuals, merchants
and people carrying out various occupations.
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TAX:
A fee charged ("levied") by a government on a product, income, or activity. If tax is levied directly on personal or corporate
income, then it is a direct tax. If tax is levied on the price of a good or service, then it is called an indirect tax. The purpose
of taxation is to FINANCE government expenditure. One of the most important uses of taxes is to finance public goods and
services, such as street lighting and street cleaning. Since public goods and services do not allow a non-payer to be
excluded, or allow exclusion by a consumer, there cannot be a market in the good or service, and so they need to be
provided by the government or a quasi-government agency, which tend to finance themselves largely through taxes.

SERVICE TAX:

Service Tax is a form of indirect tax imposed on specified services called "taxable services". Service tax cannot be levied on
any service which is not included in the list of taxable services. Over the past few years, service tax been expanded to cover
new services. The objective behind levying service tax is to reduce the degree of intensity of taxation on manufacturing and
trade without forcing the government to compromise on the revenue needs. The intention of the government is to
gradually increase the list of taxable services until most services fall within the scope of service tax. For the purpose of
levying service tax, the value of any taxable service should be the gross amount charged by the service provider for the
service rendered by him.

GATS; The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is a treaty of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that entered
into force in January 1995 as a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations. The treaty was created to extend the multilateral
trading system to service sector, in the same way the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provides such a
system for merchandise trade.

GATS is to remove barriers to trade, members are free to choose which sectors are to be progressively "liberalized", i.e.
marketwise and privatized, which mode of supply would apply to a particular sector, and to what extent liberalization will
occur over a given period of time.

Legal obstacles to services trade can have legitimate policy reasons, but can also be an effective tool for large scale
corruption
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TAXES AND IMPLICATIONS OF SERVICE TAX. IMPLICATION OF GATS ON
THE PROFESSION IN INDIA
PREFACE
The Council of Architecture, whilst formulating the Regulations on Minimum Standards for undergraduate architectural
education has emphasized that institutions imparting architectural education shall encourage faculty members to involve in
professional practice, including research. The concept and practice of Architecture, today, is far different from that of the
Twenties and Thirties. The practice now is concerned with the whole activity of designing a Complex, man-made
environment, especially in the urban areas. Many new factors, including the advances that science and technology is
making, call for immediate attention by the profession.
It is this context that the Council of Architecture has evolved Guidelines for Consultancy Practice by the faculty members of
the schools of architecture. Institutions imparting architectural education must encourage faculty members to be involved
in professional practice which would enrich the experience and knowledge of the faculty members and, in turn, upgrade
the level/quality of teaching, training and research programmes. The Heads of the institutions must ensure that the faculty
members do not, directly or indirectly, compromise their responsibility to the students and that the consultancy practice
would not interfere with the faculty member's normal and primary duties to the students and other activities of the
institution. The Consultancy practice permitted to the faculty must be consistent with the guidelines.
Introduction
The primary commitments of a faculty member are towards the students, teaching/research and other activities of the
institution. It is a recognised fact that in the modern fast changing world with techniques of construction,
planning/architecture concepts continuously going through a process of re- evaluation and change, the faculty and the
institutions have to keep themselves abreast of the latest activities and developments. This can only be achieved with
opportunities to the faculty members who involve in professional consultancy practice. Such a consultancy practice has
also other advantages like:
▪The contact with the profession and industry enriches experience and knowledge of the faculty members in the
professional spheres that upgrade the level quality of teaching, training and research programmes.
▪The faculty members have also opportunities for implementing their ideas under actual live conditions.
▪The contact with live teachers and actual projects would enable the students to perceive properly and relevant to the
curriculum.
▪The students will thereby be trained at a much higher level by technological efficiency and latest techniques and research
inputs resulting in their immediate absorption in employment after completion of their studies with greater confidence
and the professional challenges.
▪With this in view it is recommended that the institutions may permit faculty members to engage themselves either in
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institutional consultancy practice or individual consultancy practice on the following guidelines.
General Guidelines

The faculty members may be permitted to engage in private consultancy practice without detriment to their normal and
primary duties to the students, research/training and other activities of the institution, either individually or in groups or in
association with individuals or with established firms on a fee or retainer basis.
➢
➢The faculty members shall not be entitled for any concession for engaging themselves in private consultancy practice.
➢
➢The faculty members shall impart to the students the knowledge and experience gained in private consultancy practice
and may also impart professional training to the students.
➢
➢The faculty members shall not be entitled to any non-practising allowance whether engaged in consultancy practice or
not.
➢
➢The faculty members shall engage in consultancy practice at their own risk and the institution shall not be held
responsible legally or otherwise arising out of such consultancy practice.
➢
➢The faculty members may be required to carry out architectural and other related works of the institutions as and when
assigned, on payment of fees.
➢
➢The faculty members shall be required to submit at the end of every financial year, a statement indicating there in the
income earned from private consultancy practice that has been indicated in the income tax return filed and duly certified
by a Chartered Accountant.
➢
➢The funds from the Research, Development and Staff Welfare Fund shall be utilised only for welfare programmes,
research and development activities.

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The institutional consultancy practice

➢The institutional consultancy practice may be undertaken through a Consultancy Cell established in the institution.

➢The Institutional Consultancy Cell may manage its affairs through a committee of faculty members and the authorities of
the institution, duly authorised to initiate and conclude negotiations for jobs and other details like nature of job, fees,
responsibilities etc.

➢The Consultancy Cell Committee, may, assign the job to faculty members individually or in groups.

➢The Consultancy Cell may make use of institution facilities with supporting infrastructure of its own.

➢The faculty members entrusted with the jobs may appoint a group leader for entering into agreement with clients on
behalf of the Consultancy Cell and also to engage specialist consultants, as and when required, and to negotiate the fees
thereof with the Consultancy Cell Committee's approval.

➢The Consultancy Cell shall contribute a portion of the fees not exceeding 10%, to the Research, Development and Staff
Welfare Fund:

Provided further, that another 10% of the fees shall be placed at the disposal of the Consultancy Cell Committee to defray
expenditure for its activities.

➢The remaining 80% of the fees shall be utilised for expenditure and for payment of honorarium to faculty members.

➢The faculty members shall submit progress reports to the Consultancy Cell periodically for review.

➢The Consultancy Cell Committee shall submit reports annually to the authorities of the institution.

➢The Consultancy Cell shall manage all its receipts and payments.
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