PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE – I

(IN THE FIELD OF ARCHITECURE- INDIA)

By: Prof. Shivalinge Gowda S K

 COURCE OBJECTIVES(CO)

To Understand The Responsibilities & Liabilities Of The

Profession. To Appreciate The Attitude Of The Profession
 MODULE - 2

1. Practice
2. Architectural Competitions
3. Office Management
Architectural Competitions
Introduction
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.
The architectural competition is a balance of advantages.
 Architects who would not have been considered in the normal way
for an important commission, perhaps for a building of national
importance have an opportunity to prove their talent and ability.
For the promoter also, there is balance of advantages.
 A competition will cost him a little more than if he had commissioned an
architect privately and it will take a little more time. But this must be
balanced against the chance to draw upon the talents of all those who
respond to the architectural challenge, and the possibility than an
outstanding design will emerge.
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.
Purpose
The purpose of these Guidelines is to explain the architectural competitions
system, and to help the client who is thinking of promoting a competition to
make up his mind whether a competition is the right answer to his architectural
problem, and, if so, which kind of competition would be suitable. It also tells,
the promoter how competitions are organised, and what the responsibilities of
promoter are.
Architectural Competitions give the promoters
1) A choice from the best viable project of high standard with a variety of
approaches.
2) 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.
3) 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.
4) Competition Guidelines as laid down by the Council of Architecture protect
and safeguard the interests both of the promoter and the competitor.
5) While ensuring the promoter a design of high standard and adjudged as such
by prominent Architects acting as Assessors, it also ensures that each
competitor competes on like conditions and within the same limitations.
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 President of 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.

For practical reasons, this responsibility is often taken by the Senior

Assessor who would then be available to advise the promoter on all
matters connected with the competition from the promoter's decision to
hold the competition till the final award.
Briefly 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 finalisation of
the brief.

Further the participation of the Assessors in the preparation of the brief will
enable them to understand fully the intent of the promoter. Also as qualified
Architects they would be capable of visualizing the development with
reference to the promoter's requirements, site conditions etc. and in
interpreting the competition entries in these terms.
For complicated projects such as Hospitals, Airports etc. which are under
constant development or projects encompassing highly technical elements, a
Technical Adviser would be considered necessary in the initial stage to help the
Promoter and the Assessors to draw up the brief and subsequently to advise the
Assessors on the technical aspect of the competition entries.
Once the promoter's requirements, the site conditions, the requirements of the
local authorities etc. have been formulated into the competition brief, the
Assessors (or the Senior Assessor) can advise the promoter on the type of
competition that should be promoted.
Schedule 1 of the Competition Guidelines describes in detail the types of
competitions, which could be adopted and successfully conducted.
The conditions for Architectural competition given in Schedule 3 specifies the
procedure to be followed by the promoter for conducting competitions and
these conditions have been drawn up to ensure that each competitor competes
on similar conditions, that the selection is based entirely on merit, that in
appreciation of the effort that would be put in by each competitor suitable and
adequate prize monies and honoraria are assured, that anonymity of the
competitor is maintained during the competition and that each competitor
enjoys Copyright and Right of Ownership.
Response from well-established Architects as well as large number of young
Architects to an open competition can best be assured by wide publicity. This is all
the more essential for projects which are of public interest.
Publicity could begin with the invitation of Architects to participate through widely
read media. This could be followed by press conferences and finally by the
publication of the Assessor's report and public exhibition of all the entries.

Guidelines (COA)
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of these Guidelines is to indicate the principles upon which
competitions will be conducted and the rules which must be observed by a
promoter for conducting competitions.
These guidelines have been drawn up in the interest of both the promoter and
the competitor and to ensure that the architectural competitions are properly
conducted and that selection of the design will be on merit alone and will
satisfy the promoter's requirements.
The Code of Professional Conduct of the Council of Architecture does not
allow Architects to give unpaid services in competition with each other and
competitive designs shall only be submitted through competition organised
within the framework of these guidelines.
GUIDELINES:
ARTICLE 1: ELIGIBILITY TO COMPETE:
Participation in any and all competitions shall be open to:
Architects i.e. those who are registered with the Council of Architecture
under the Architects Act, 1972 on the date of announcement of the
competition and thereafter.
Firms in which all the partners shall be registered with the Council of
Architecture under the Architects Act, 1972 on the date of announcement of
the competition and thereafter.
Students of a Teaching Institution, the qualifying examination of which is
recognised by the Council of Architecture provided that no member of the
staff of the said institution is the sole Assessor or in a jury of three or more
Assessors, only one Assessor is from the staff of the said institution.
Neither the Promoter of the competition, Assessor/s engaged for the
competition nor any of their associate, partner or employee shall compete,
assist a competitor or act as an architect or joint architect for the competition
project.
Competitor may be requested to submit a proof of qualification, copy of his
valid Registration certificate issued by the Council of Architecture, and in
case of a student, a certificate from the head of his institution which is
qualified as per 3 above.

ARTICLE 2: Competition
 The word 'Competition' shall apply to any competition described in
Schedule 1 and participation shall be open only to those qualified as per
Article 1.
 The draft competition conditions including time table, registration fees,
prize monies/honoraria, board of assessors, the programme etc. of
competitions shall have been finalised within the framework of the
guidelines prescribed by the Council of Architecture before any
announcement is made by the promoter of the competition.
 The conditions of the competitions shall clearly give:
Conditions based upon guidelines prescribed by the Council of Architecture.
Type of Competition.
Purpose of the competition and intentions of the promoter.
Nature of the problem to be solved.
All practical and mandatory requirements to be met by the competitors.
Number, nature, scale and dimensions of the documents, plan and/or models.
Estimates if required in standard form issued with the conditions.
Nature of prizes.
Names of Assessors.
Necessary information required for conducting the competition.
 The competition shall be conducted in English.
 All competition designs shall be submitted anonymously.
ARTICLE 3: BOARD OF ASSESSORS:
The Board of Assessors shall at all times include Architects who are
registered with the Council of Architecture and shall be in a majority of at-
least one.
ARTICLE 4: Prizes, Honoraria & Mentions:
No competition shall be conducted without adequate premium/honoraria and
the competition conditions and the media announcements must state the
amounts and number of prizes for the open competition and the amount of
premium or honorarium to each competitor in a limited competition and in
the second stage of a two stage competition.
ARTICLE 5: Copyright & Right of ownership:
Each competitor shall retain Copyright in his own competition design.
Each competitor shall retain the right of reproduction of his own
competition design.
ARTICLE 6:
All competition designs including those disqualified by the Board of
Assessors shall be exhibited for at-least one week, together with a copy of
the signed report of the Board of Assessors. The exhibition shall be open to
public free of charge.
Registration Procedure
It is extremely important for competitors who may be asked to pay substantial
registration fees to know exactly when they are registered and under what
conditions the registration fee will be refunded. It is also important for
intending competitors to receive sufficient information when they are invited
to apply for the competition conditions to enable them to judge whether the
competition falls within the guidelines for architectural competition of the
Council of Architecture and whether they are capable of tackling the problem
set by the competition.
The Council of Architecture recommends 3 parts Procedure:
PART I
A descriptive leaflet and / or an advertisement in general and professional
media. These should include the following information:
1. Name of the Promoter
2. Purpose and nature of the competition. This should be carefully worded to
give a clear idea of the scope of the project whether it is a project or an
ideas competition, single or 2 stage competition and the type of
material that a competitor would be asked to submit.
3. The prizes (or honoraria)
4. Names of Assessors
5. Persons eligible to compete
6. An approximate time table
7. The procedure for registration, the last date for registration and
the date by which the competition conditions would be made
available by the promoter.

 Copies of this leaflet with a registration form attached (see model

form) should be available from the promoter.

PART II
An intending competitor makes an application the bodies listed in the
advertisement/leaflet for the registration form, completes the registration
form as per the instructions given on the form and sends it by registered
post to the promoter together with the registration fee (if any).
The registration form should be sent by the intending competitor within the
time stipulated. It will establish his eligibility to compete. The registration
is only complete when the promoter accepts the competitor's eligibility by
placing his name on the competition register and informs him in writing
accordingly.
PART III
The competition condition will be sent to the intending competitor
by the promoter only when his eligibility is established and his
name is entered in the competition register.

REGISTRATION FORM
(All entries in block letters)
Registration No. ...............................................................................
OR Name of Educational Institution:
.............................................................................................
.............................................................................................
Year of Study.........................................................
Competitor (s)/ Name (s) (1) Mr. /
Ms.......................................................................
(Surname) (1st Name) (2nd Name)
(2) Mr. / Ms. ......................................................................
( Surname) ( 1st Name) ( 2nd Name)
(3) Mr. / Ms .......................................................................
( Surname) ( 1st Name) ( 2nd Name)
Address: (In case of entry by a team, give the address of the first mentioned
person
who will be registered by the promoter as a leader.)
.................................................................................................
.................................................................................................
.................................................................................................
Registration fee (By Demand Draft Demand Draft for
Rs. ...................................................(enter amount)
in favour of
......................................................) no ..........................................
dated .................................................
(indicate name of promoter) drawn on ......................................................
(enter name of the Bank)
payable at
.........................................
(enter name of the city)
Declaration: (To be signed by Competitor i.e. an individual Architect or one
of the partners of a firm of Architects or leader of a team of Architects)1
I declare that at the time of application to register for the competition, I was
registered with the Council of Architecture incorporated under the
Architects Act 1972 and that the Registration with the Council of
Architecture will be maintained, till the award of the Board of Assessors and
thereafter till the completion of the project if I am declared and appointed as
the Architect for the project.
OR
I declare that at the time of application to register I was studying
Architecture in the____________ (indicate year of study) year of
Architecture at the __________________________ (Indicate name of
educational institution) (Optional clause if students are admitted).
Signature....................................................
Date...........................................................
Notes:
Registration is not transferable.
Ideas competitions: Students may register either individually or in team with
other students.
Two Stage and Single Stage competitions: Students are not permitted to
register and may therefore only participate in association with an accredited
architect.
Title of Competition (Enter name of project and location)
 
Schedule 1
1. PROJECT AND IDEAS COMPETITIONS
Competitions may be either "Projects" or "Ideas" competitions or in certain
circumstances a combination of both. The aim of a project competition is to find
the best solution for an actual building project and to appoint its author to carry
out the commission. Competitions of Ideas are set as an exercise to elucidate
certain aspects of architectural and town planning problems. The winner of such
a competition may not be commissioned to carry out the project, and hence
students of architecture may participate at the discretion of the promoter.
2. CLASSIFICATION OF COMPETITIONS

(I) OPEN COMPETITIONS

Competitions in which all Architects are invited to participate through an
announcement by advertisements in suitable media and through circulars which
may be issued by the promoters.

Open competitions for projects estimated at less than Rs. 10,00,000/-may be

restricted to Architects who have their main or branch office in the State of the
project site.
(II) LIMITED COMPETITIONS FOR COMPETITIONS BY
INVITATION
Competitions in which limited amount of Architects (approx. 5 to 8) selected
by the promoter on the advice of the Senior Architect Assessor or Board of
Assessors, are invited to participate. Each participant who submits his
designs shall receive an honorarium.
(III) SPECIAL COMPETITIONS
Besides competitions described in (i) and (ii) above a competition may also
combine town planning as well as design problem, and may involve the use of
industrial components or participation of developers. In such competitions
participation may be required to be limited to professionals or group of
professionals with certain definite expertise.
In such cases the competition announcement shall clearly define the field of
expertise.
3. COMPETITION ORGANISATION
Competitions may be organised in one or two stages.
(I) SINGLE STAGE COMPETITION
In single stage competition the competition entries shall be fairly complete
drawings i.e. plans, section, elevations, etc. to a suitable scale and sufficient to
explain the scheme as set out in the competition conditions.
The designs so submitted shall be assessed by the Assessors for the award of the
prizes and the appointment of the architect.
Such competitions are recommended for small and simple project.
(II) TWO STAGE COMPETITIONS
In two stage competition, the first stage is for soliciting ideas and therefore the
competition entries at this stage would be limited to planning on broad basis
and drawings to a suitable scale sufficient to indicate the intentions of the
competitor.
Designs submitted in the first stage shall be assessed by the Assessors for
selecting a small number of competitors (between 5 and 10). The author of
these selected designs will be invited to take part in the second stage of the
competition, and each architect so invited would be paid a specified sum.
In order to maintain anonymity, each competitor will be informed individually
whether he has been or has not been invited to participate in the second stage.
Correspondence in this respect will be the responsibility of the Promoter or
Professional Adviser, if appointed. It will also be his responsibility to ensure
that the names of those invited and those rejected are not revealed either to the
assessor or to any person.
To ensure this anonymity the envelopes containing the names of the
competitors shall be opened by the Promoter or Professional Adviser
if appointed. After the intimation has been sent to each competitor
they shall be re-sealed until the final award.
After the end of the first stage, the Board of Assessors, may, if
found necessary and with the approval of the Promoter, clarify or
amplify points in the competition conditions for the benefit of the
second stage competitors. Such clarification or amplification shall
not in any way disclose directly or indirectly or even inadvertently
any of the designs submitted in the first stage to those invited for
the second stage.
The period between the Assessors award for the first stage and
submission of designs for the second stage shall not exceed six
months. Only under exceptional circumstances period may be
extended.
The second stage of the competition may be limited to only a part of
the subject dealt with in the first stage.
Members of the Board of Assessors shall be the same for first stage
and second stage of the competition.
The designs submitted for both the first stage and the second stage
shall be exhibited and/or published only after the final award of the
second stage competition.
If any design selected for the second stage is published or exhibited
before the final award of the second stage has been declared, it will
be disqualified.
Two stage competitions are recommended for town planning and for
large scale or complex project.

III. REGIONAL SPECIAL CATEGORY COMPETITIONS

This type of competition is intended for small projects of charitable
organisations in which four to six local firms will compete for the
appointment as the Architect.
No premiums are given and the winner shall be appointed to carry out the
project.
Schedule 2
(I) TECHNICAL ADVISER
Where appropriate and necessary the promoter shall in consultation with the
Senior Architect Assessor/Board of Assessors appoint one or more technical
advisers to assist in the preparation of the brief for the competition project
and to advise the Board of Assessors, only when called upon to do so, on the
competition design entries.
The advise of the technical adviser will be limited to his expertise and he will
have no voting rights.
 
(II) PROFESSIONAL ADVISER
For a two stage competition a Professional Adviser who shall be an Architect
registered with the Council of Architecture may be appointed. He will not be
connected with the Board of Assessors or attend any of its meetings.
It will be the responsibility of the Professional Adviser to maintain the
anonymity of each competitor and those selected for the second stage of the
competition.
 On completion of the first stage of the competition the sealed envelopes
containing the names of the competitors shall be opened only by the
Promoter or Professional Adviser if appointed and he shall without
disclosing any of the names to anyone inform each competitor individually
whether he has or has not been invited for the second stage. All the
envelopes shall then be re-sealed by the Professional Adviser/Promoter till
the final award.

If after the first stage, the Board of Assessors wish to clarify or amplify any
aspect of the competition project, such clarification or amplification shall be
conveyed to the competitors selected for the second stage only by the
Professional Adviser/Promoter.
Schedule 3
Conditions for conducting architectural competitions
Careful preparation of the competition conditions including schedule of
requirement shall be of primary importance for the success of the competition
and as such adequate time shall be allowed for this phase of the competition.
1. CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION
The publication of competition shall constitute an offer of a contract by the
promoter, and, by submission of design for the competition, the competitor
accepts this contract.
The competition condition together with any reply to the competitor's questions
constitute a legal basis for this contract which is legally binding on both the
promoter and competitors.
2. GENERAL CONDITIONS
The competition project brief and the conditions of the competition may be
prepared by the promoter in consultation with the Senior Architect Assessor.
They shall however be approved by the Senior Architect Assessor and the Board
of Assessors before publication and issue to the competitors.
The conditions including the programme of requirement of the competition shall be
identical for all competitors. A copy of complete competition conditions shall be
filed with the Council of Architecture. Answers to the competitor's questions shall
also be sent to the Council of Architecture for their record.
The conditions shall clearly indicate which of the requirements are mandatory and
which could be freely interpreted by the competitor.
The freedom in case of the latter shall be as wide as possible.
The information supplied to the competitors shall be specific and shall not be
open to misinterpretation. Supplementary information if any issued by the
Board of Assessors shall be sent to all the competitors simultaneously.
Draft of the conditions of competitions approved as per (i) above shall be
submitted to the Council of Architecture for information before publication and
issue to the competitors.
The conditions of the competition shall indicate the promoter's priorities with
reference to the solution of the problem (e.g. functional aspects, economy of
construction or in use, solution to technical or circulation problems etc.).
The condition of the competition shall state the exact use to which the
promoter will put the winning design. Designs shall not be put to any other use
or altered in any way except by agreement with the author.
Where a fixed amount is required to be remitted to with the promoters by the
applicants for the 'Conditions of the Competition', it shall be refunded in full to
the applicant if he decides not to compete and return the "Conditions of the
Competition" in full within four weeks prior to the date of submission of the
design.
Submission of design in Competition shall imply acceptance, by the
competitor, of the conditions of competition.
Each design shall be accompanied by a declaration on the prescribed form
signed by the competitor in a properly sealed envelope that the design is his
bonafide work and that the drawings have been prepared under his
supervision and that he undertakes to accept the award of the Assessors as
final and binding.
In case two or more architects form an association for the purpose of the
competition then there shall exist a partnership deed for the purpose of
carrying out the project in the event the said association wins the
competition. Reference to this partnership must be made in the form of
declaration.
The Board of Assessors must make awards which shall be final and
binding and shall be made public by a date stated in the conditions.
The Board of Assessors when making an award may at its discretion
adopt "promoters' choice".
In this procedure the Board of Assessors shall select not more than three designs which
in their opinion are of equal merit and the selection of the winning design from the
designs so selected by the Assessors could be made by the promoter.
The promoter may for making the final selection discuss with the authors of the
selected designs their respective entries.
3. PRIZE MONEY & HONORARIA
1. The condition for any competition must state the number of prizes and
the amount of each prize money. This must be related to the size of the
project, the amount of work involved for the competitors and the expenses
he would incur for the preparation for the competition.
2. In Ideas competition and in competitions such as those for Town
planning, where subsequently the work is generally carried out by official
bodies, it is particularly important to allot adequate prize money to re-
compensate the competitors for the ideas and the work they have done.
3. The promoter shall undertake to accept the decision of the Board of
Assessors and to pay the prize monies within one month of the
announcement of the competition results.
 4. Each participant in a limited competition (or competition by invitation) shall
receive an honorarium.
5. In a two stage competition a reasonable honorarium shall be paid to each of the
competitors selected to take part in second stage. This sum which is intended to be
reimbursed to them for the additional work carried out in the second stage shall be
stated in the conditions for the competition.
4. ANONYMITY
The anonymity of the competitors shall be maintained until the final award of the
Board of Assessors and in the interest of the competition, rigorous measures shall
be taken to ensure that this principle is adhered to. No competitor shall terminate
his anonymity in any way whatsoever till the final award. The anonymity of each
competitor shall be guaranteed by adopting suitable measures.
5. COPYRIGHT & RIGHT OF OWNERSHIP
Each competitor shall retain copyright in his own competition design.
The competition design awarded the first prize only shall be used by the promoter
upon commissioning by him the author of the said design to render professional
services to carry out the project.
No other design whether premiated or not shall be used wholly or in part by the
promoter.
The promoter's right on the design awarded the first prize or the designs selected
covers one execution only. The competition conditions however may provide for
repetitive work and shall specify the terms thereof.
Each competitor shall retain the right of reproduction of his design.
6. INSURANCE
The promoter shall insure for damage or loss by fire, floods, or by any other reason
Competitor's design drawings submitted in competition when he assumes responsibility
for them and for the duration of his responsibility and also for loss during transit when
the design drawings are being returned to the competitor. The amount of such insurance
shall be stated in the competition conditions.
7. COMPETITION TIME TABLE
The notice of competition shall clearly indicate the last date for application for the
competition conditions and the last date for submission of the design drawings.
The conditions of the competition shall clearly indicate:
The last date for submission of questions.
Approximate date when the answers to the questions will be sent to the competitors.
The final date for the despatch of entries by the competitors and for the receipt of the
same by the promoter.
Sufficient time shall be allowed for transport, more particularly for open competitions
where the competitors will be from all over the country.
The interval between the date of despatch and the date of delivery of the entries to the
promoter should be between five and ten days.
 In case of late delivery of the entry despatched before the last date for despatch, it
will be the responsibility of the Board of Assessors to decide whether the entry was
despatched in accordance with the competition time table and if circumstances can
permit its admission for judging.
The competition time table shall under no circumstances be shortened.
The Board of Assessors shall decide upon the judging dates at the early stage of the
competition and the date of announcement of the awards shall also be included in
the conditions of the competition.

In case of two stage competitions however the conditions of competition shall

indicate dates limited to the first stage only.

All the dates in respect of the second stage shall form part of the conditions with
reference to the second stage.
In case of unavoidable delay in judging, a new date shall be fixed by the Board of
Assessors which shall be confirmed by all its members and publicly announced.
8. COST ESTIMATES
The competitors may be required to submit cost estimate of their design on areas or
volume basis. The cost estimate shall however not be a determining factor in the
Assessors' decision except where cost limits have to be rigidly imposed and is so stated
in the competition conditions.
9. TERMINATION OF THE COMPETITION
The promoter may terminate the competition if in the opinion of the Board of Assessors
none of the competition designs could be declared as a winning entry. In this event the
promoter under the advice of the Board of Assessors shall award second, third and
additional prizes as declared and none of the competitors will be considered for
appointment as the architect for the project and the promoter will not be liable to make
any further payments to any of the competitors.
10. APPOINTMENT OF ARCHITECT
The award of the first prize to the competition design places the promoter under an
obligation to appoint its author as the architect for the commissioning of the project.
If the Board of Assessors shall be satisfied that there is a valid objection to the
appointment of the author of the winning design as the architect he may be required to
associate with a senior architect or a firm of architects of his choice whose
qualifications shall be approved by the Board of Assessors. Failing this the design
placed next on merit shall be selected for commissioning and its author shall be
appointed as the architect subject to similar conditions.

The award of the Board of Assessors shall not be varied for any reasons.
If no instructions are given to the author of the design selected by the Assessor to proceed
within twelve months from the date of the award, then he shall receive payment for his
services in connection with the preparation of the Competition drawings of a sum equal to
1.00 percent on the amount of the estimated cost. The first premium shall be deducted from
the sum so paid. If the work is subsequently proceeded with, this sum shall from part of his
ultimate fee.

If within twelve months of the award, the promoters shall decide to proceed with part of
the work only, the author of the selected design shall be paid including the premium and in
addition to the scale of fees on the work, which is being carried out a sum equal to 1.00
percent on the difference between the cost of the work carried out and his estimate of cost
of the total project which sum shall also merge into the commission when the remainder of
the work is subsequently executed.
The selected Architect having been appointed to carry out the work shall be paid in
accordance with the Schedule of Charges determined and published by the Council of
Architecture in consultation with the Promoters, and the premium already paid shall be
deemed to be a payment on account.
11. EXHIBITION OF ENTRIES
All competition designs including those disqualified by the Board of Assessors shall be
exhibited for atleast one week together with a copy of the signed report of the Board of
Assessors. The exhibition shall be open to public free of charge.
The promoter shall notify all the competitors and shall also announce in suitable media
the days and place of the public exhibition of the competition.
The promoters shall submit to the Council of Architecture a copy of the signed report of
the jury and if requested photographs of the premiated designs for possible publication.

12. RETURN OF DESIGN DRAWING

All drawings, plans, models etc. submitted by the competitor except those of the winning
design shall be returned by the promoter at the end of the public exhibition at his own
cost. The drawings, plans, models of the winning design shall be returned to its author on
being appointed as the Architect for the Project or after six months from the date of
announcement of the award by the Board of Assessors whichever is early.
Schedule 4
1. The Board of Assessors shall be set up before the promotion of the competition. Their
names and those of the reserve members of the board, if any shall be stated in the
competition conditions.
2. The Board of Assessors shall be composed of a smallest reasonable number of assessors
which number shall be an odd figure.
3. The size of the Board shall depend upon the size of the competition project and
preferably the number of Assessors shall not exceed seven. Of the total number of
Assessors the number of Assessors who shall be Architects and registered with the Council
of Architecture shall be in a majority of at least one.
4. The number of Assessors representing the promoters shall not exceed two.
6. Each member of the Board shall examine and approve the competition conditions
before they are made available to the competitors.
7. The Board of Assessors may invite Technical Advisers as experts in specialised fields to
assist in the assessment of competition entries. Such Technical Advisors shall not have any
voting rights.
8. It is essential that at least 2/3rd of the voting members of the Board shall be present at
all meetings of the Board. The Board shall elect a Chairman from among its members.
9. In the event of death of an Assessor before or during the assessment of the competition
or his inability to continue to act on account of illness or any other cause, another Assessor
shall be appointed in his place by the promoters without affecting the majority of atleast
one, of the Assessors who are Architects and registered with the Council of Architecture.
10. No promoter of the competition and no assessors engaged upon it nor any
partner, associate, or employee of either shall compete or assist a competitor, or
act as architect or joint architect for the project.

This regulation shall not be applicable to:

a. Staff or present students of an Institution of which a member of the regular
teaching staff is on the Board of Assessors provided he is not the sole
Assessor and the Board consists of two or more Assessors of whom only
one is a member of the teaching staff of this or any other Institution.
b. Employees of a Government, Semi-Government or a Public Sector
organisation of which one of its employees is on the Board of Assessors
provided he is not the sole Assessor and the Board consists of three or more
Assessors of whom only one is such an employee.
11. In two stage competitions, the same members of the Board shall judge both
stages of the competition. In no case may a competition as a single stage
competition proceed to a second stage except with knowledge of the Council of
Architecture and arrangement for payment of appropriate honoraria to the
competitors involved, over and above the prize money provided for in the
original competition. In the event of such a secondary competition taking place,
the Assessors appointed for the original competition must be reappointed by the
promoters.
12. Any drawings, photographs, models or other documents not required by the
competition condition shall be excluded by the Assessors before examining the
competitors' entries.
13. The Assessors shall disqualify any design which does not conform to any of the
conditions, instructions or requirements of the competition.
14. The Board of Assessors must make an award. The award shall be final and shall
be made public in open competitions, and intimated individually to all those
participating in limited competition, by a date stated in the conditions. The Board of
Assessors when distributing the award money shall make full use of the amounts set
aside for prizes in the competition conditions. In an ideas competition, a first prize
shall be awarded.
15. The decision of the Board of Assessors shall be taken by a majority vote with a
separate vote on each entry. The award including the Assessors report to the
promoter, shall be signed by all the members of the Board before they disperse.
16. The decision of the Board of Assessors regarding selection and placement of
competition design shall be final and binding on the promoter and all competitors
and shall be reached by a majority.
17. The Board of Assessors will make its award known to the promoter in a formal
statement signed by atleast a simple majority of its members. The statement will
indicate the number of designs examined and the order of the prizes awarded. This
statement must be completed before the envelopes are opened and the Assessors
disperse.
18. The fees, travel expenses and out of pocket expenses of the members of the
Board shall be paid by the promoter.
Schedule 5
Schedule 6
* Sub-heads for contingent expenditure :
1. Land Survey.
2. Photographs of site.
3. Printing of Brochure.
4. Advertisement.
5. Communication Expenses.
6. Administrative and Legal Expenses.
7. Exhibition.
8. Publication of competition/select entries.
9. Contingent travel, conveyance, boarding, lodging etc. for Professional Advisor /
Project Coordinator, Assessors and others.
10. Other incidental expenses.
 
 
 Office Management:
Administration of Architectural firms;
Basic accounting procedures
 Office Management:
Office is a place where records are prepared, handled and preserved for future
reference. It is an administrative centre of business where relevant records are
prepared, preserved and made available for the purpose of efficient management of
the organisation.
Administrative function relates to
communication,
safety,
security,
Coordination,
Planning,
Cost reduction and
Public relations apart from achieving project goal. It is necessary for the office to
i) Improve upon existing information system
ii) Reduce amount of paper work. Use of computers in all possible areas
iii) Encourage creative thinking and employee participation
iv) Improve and maintain public relations
v) Attract, acquire and retain talent
vi) Endevour for cot-efficient office service
vii) Decentralise as many functions as possible
viii) Achieve greater productivity through incentives and incorporating employee’s
ideas in all areas of productivity, e.g. Cost, meeting deadlines, etc.
Administration of Architectural firms:
In small offices, one or two individuals may combine/perform several functions,
viz., that of
a receptionist,
Accountant,
Typist, etc.
In medium and large offices
Separate administrative officer/office manager will be present to coordinate the
various functions of the office apart from accounts to maintain financial
transactions of varied nature.
Further, a liaison official may be present to interact with various agencies on
behalf of the office. Very large offices would employ even a public relation officer
to represent the office.
Apart from these people, subordinate staff, like office boys, security personnel,
personal secretaries, etc., will be present based on the size and need of an office.
Store:
In small offices it may include material collection blue printing machine or Xerox
machine, storing area for drawings.
In large and very large offices, this area may contain unused supplies and stocks of
various kinds, furniture and filing cabins. Specific design can result in efficient use
of available space. (Horizontal and vertical or in levels). Space saving techniques
are needed in case of small offices or where the rent for office accommodation
is very high.
An office, depending on the volume of work may posses a Xerox machine,
blue printing machine, CD writer, Printer, (for large drawings) etc. Otherwise,
it can outsource these works to an outside agency (which may be economical in
case of smaller volumes) on a regular basis.
Pantry:
An area which can combine preparation and serving of beverages, heating
facility for food, dining area for employees (if needed), drinking water
fountain, coffee or tea dispensers an such related activities. In case of large and
very large firms, this can be a formal area specially designed as an independent
food court.
In small offices, it becomes optional depending on space availability. Comfort
station (toilet) could be individually be present or shared.
Reception area/entrance lobby:
It is important as it projects the image of the office to a visitor; his/her first
encounter with the office when one visits the office. It is desirable that the entrance
is appealing with the office sign board, logo, address, etc., neatly designed for
clarity and access. Inside, the reception area can boost the image of office through
photographs, models, posters, etc., of projects (notable ones) to give an idea of
nature of work done in office. Good lighting, furniture,
sculpture/paintings/murals, colour scheme, interior landscaping, small water
sources, cascades, fountains, aquariums, flooring/carpeting, false ceiling all part of
interior design can add value to the image of the office in terms of style and
operational efficiency.
Office administration: Project administration
The principal/director in charge of administration selects the individual or team to
handle a project as soon the client approaches the office.
In smaller offices, the architect himself decides and takes decisions.
In medium and large offices a team, usually comprising a senior and junior
member, will be assigned the work, who intern have direct access to the client and
are in charge of day-to-day progress involving coordination of
Design,
Programming,
Execution drawings,
Structural,
Services aspects and
Site supervision apart from interacting with contractors and suppliers.
Office administration: Work format
Each firm follows its own mode of presentation and preparation of drawings,
guidelines regarding site inspection books and communication format used for
different purposes.
Well-established offices would have standardized format, viz. Standard size
drawing sheet with the firm’s name and address printed at the lower half of the
sheet and instructions (if any) on the right side of sheet.

General administration:
General administration involves day-today-running of office, issues of general
communication memos within the office, and with outsiders like clients, official
agencies, suppliers as also non-official agencies. Duties include communicating
official direction from the principal/director of the employees and maintaining
records of the same as per standard office procedures.
Other aspects include maintaining attendance register, casual leave records, earned
leave record (if followed), annual leave of absence of employee, medical leave,
issuing of certificates dealing with agencies like P.F. Commissioner, labour
department, income tax department, commercial tax department, etc.
Finance:
Finance essentially deals with income and expenditure apart from savings. The
architect’s office is essentially not a commercial organisation with profit motive
but all efforts should be made to increase income and control expenditure thereby
earning a reasonable profit.
Income is generated from consultancy services of various types the office offers,
royalties, sale of any pending items, reports, visual productions made by office,
hiring out extra space or spare facilities, e.g. Computer time, personnel, etc.
Expenditure includes employees salaries and bonuses, office stationery and
consumables, postage/mailing, drawing prints, xeroxing of documents,
internet facilities, printing of documents, telephone/mobile expenses, fax,
official vehicles owned by office and their maintenance, services like water,
electricity for general lighting and a/c, coolers, etc., in addition to rent for the
office accommodation.
Others include income tax, professional tax, sales tax/commercial tax, licences
from consultants and petty cash. Within the office, provision is made for a pantry
for light beverages and snacks to employees including meals from outside (only in
large offices as good corporate practice). Additional expenditure like gifts to
employees and well-known clients, expenses incurred for annual office parties or
picnics (if observed/organised) entertaining clients.
Human resource management:
The growth and well-being of a firm depends on how supportive its employees are
in achieving its objectives. Today, it is receiving due to attention as part of
administration. The idea is to hire the right type of employees, motivate them by
providing the required ambience to get the best out of them. Value is placed on
their skills to raise the quality and output of the office. The employee is seen as a
partner in progress rather than just an employee.

Laws Relating to Architectural Practice:

Effective functioning of an architectural practice not only depends on professional
competency but also a proper understanding of laws for setting up and running
such an office. These laws are framed by central, state and local bodies and
relate to responsibilities as an employer towards his employees – towards not just
salaries but also providing comfortable working conditions and welfare measures.
Some of these Laws/Acts include Income tax Law/Act, shops and commercial
Act/Laws of an individual state, Labour related laws-especially related to
women and children, Professional Tax Act, Service Tax Laws, Provident Fund
Act, Workmen Compensation Act. All professional offices come under category
of ‘industry’. These acts/laws are in addition to the Architects Act, 1972
exclusively enacted for the profession.