Clause 7:
No act or proceeding of the Council or the Executive
Committee or any other committee shall be invalid merely by reason of –
(a) Any
vacancy in, or defect in the constitution of, the Council, the Executive
Committee or any other committee, or
(b) Any
defect in the election or nomination of a person acting as a member thereof, or
(c) Any
irregularity in procedure not affecting the merits of the case.
Interpretation: This clause deals with the working of the
Council incase of any disparities in the committee. Nominated members remain
members for 3 years after which they are eligible to re-elect. Incase there are
any vacancies in members these positions are filled to complete the 3 year
term. Through this clause the Council is station that they are not responsible
if people lose their memberships and create vacancies. They are not responsible
for the outcomes of the re-elections to fill these vacancies. The Council is not responsible for any
irregularities in the re-election procedure that may or may not affect the
ongoing cases.
Clause 9:
(1) The council shall meet at least
once in every six months at such time and place and shall observe such rules of
procedure in regard to the transaction of business at its meetings, as may be
prescribed by regulations.
(2) Unless otherwise prescribed by
regulations, nine members of the Council shall form a quorum, and all the acts
of the Council shall be decided by a majority of the members present and
voting.
(3) In the case of an equal
division of votes, the President, or in his absence, the Vice – President or,
in the absence of both, the member presiding over the meeting, shall have and
exercise a second or casting vote
Interpretation: This clause is regarding the meetings in the
Council. The hierarchy of the Council followed is the President, Vice-
President and then the members presiding of the particular meeting. The Council
meets every six months to discuss certain businesses, which are done at a fixe
time and place and following all regulations of the Act. If needed, the nine
Council members form a quorum, which is the least amount of people present at
the meeting who are allowed to participate in decision-making, and the majority
members vote for the council acts. This clause clearly states who is in- charge
and who isn’t.
The tender document is a document created by the architects
in order to get offers for their construction requirements. The tender is
issued for the services rather than the materials. The tender document contains
a cover letter, terms and conditions, bill of quantities, basic drawings and
specifications and the tender evaluation criteria.
The tenders are taken out as a notice in a newspaper or sent
directly to contractors. The notices give the basic information on the project
and the deadlines for the tender submission and approval. The notices have
information on where to find further details on the project requirements.
The tender documents start with a cover letter, which has
the basic requirements and timings from the submission and opening of the
tenders. The rest of the document has a description of all the works that are
to be done for construction along with the amount for the form, earnest money
that will be associated with the work and the timing specifications for the
tenders.
The end of the document gives instructions that need to be
followed while filling the tender, any particulars that need to be kept in mind
while giving their quotations. In the case of the tenders studied the
instructions were explaining the equipment’s that need to be included while
giving the quotations for certain works. Others include specifications
regarding the source of the work that has been given. Especially in government
tenders one needs to include specifications on legality of work being carried
out.
The documents are completed and given back to the firms. On
a fixed date and time the tenders are opened and compared and one agency is
chosen for the required works.
The selection criteria for works are dependent on the works
that the tender states. The first criteria is the comparison of all the
received bids, the lowest is the most preferred. In case of works which require
multiple agencies there is a need to find a cohesive relationship and bidding
for the entire project.
After these formalities are cleared a tender is chosen to
represent the project along with their earnest money.
This process of creating tenders is a valid process as it
gives an equal chance to all agencies to participate and get a fair chance to
represent themselves and get a project. The idea of “fairness” though can be
questioned, as most firms have contractors they prefer to work with or they may
have clients who come readily with their contractors. The idea that it is a
process, which is allowing people to bid for work, may not necessarily be true.
These tedious processes become null and void when people do
not choose according to the rules and regulations set by themselves. Even in
small firms there is often a bias towards contractors who they have been
working with for years.
A Tender document is a legal process for procuring bid and
agencies for work but if these are not implemented what is the requirement of a
tender? Do civil works prefer a government tax – money payer bid or would a
private sector bid be easier to work with? And is this process of tenders
creating a section of contractors who are unable to get their chance to make
bids?
Reference:
Harayan Urban Development Authority
https://www.huda.gov.in/Pages/TenderNotices.aspx
https://www.huda.gov.in/tenders/Tender1_26April16.pdf
https://www.huda.gov.in/tenders/Tender3_4May16.pdf
https://www.huda.gov.in/tenders/Tender1_6May16.pdf
COMPETITION ASSESSMENT
Design competitions are a way for a practice to expand their
horizons and think outside the box. Most competitions may be at a very
conceptual stage, which allows a practice to explore and research new ideas.
Competitions
can be used for projects such as:
·
Urban design and planning
·
New buildings
·
Redevelopment and refurbishment works
·
Engineering projects
·
Landscape schemes
·
Public realm and artwork projects
All competitions have their briefs. For those hosting these
competitions it’s a forum for them to get different ideas for the same space
that they can use to modify their designs. The briefs a general and related to
the topic and what has to be designed, who is to be invited to participate, the
related dates and prizes.
Each competition is different but tries to bring in a common
idea as well. In the competitions seen off late one notices that there is
always an aspect sustainable development, which seems to be the new “fad” in
design.
There
are certain basic requirements for a design competition.
·
A sponsor
·
An advisor
·
A jury
·
A detailed and carefully compiled brief
·
A schedule
·
A lucrative prize
The selection process for these competitions is based on a
group or jurors who may or may not be familiar with your works. The jurors are
given atleast 100 submissions, which they must look through and pick a winner
from. One cannot always tell whether these processes are fair or not. Though the criteria are clearly mentioned it
isn’t always sure what a juror may like. The processes for these competitions
are clearly laid out. They are clear about the dates and times as well as the
medium and modes of presentations. This makes the process for those applying a
very smooth one.
Competitions are a great way to get various practices
involved in large projects and also for the practices applying to be able to
work at a large scale for a wider audience.
Reference:
Bamiyan Culture Centre Design Competition, http://bamiyanculturalcentre.org/launch-of-the-competition/
Rio Olymipic Sustainable Fanbox, http://www.archasm.in/briefs.html
Architecture at Zero, http://www.architectureatzero.com
ARCHITECTURE IN 2040
Architecture practices today are a mixture of different
peoples ideas. A practice functions on the ideas of one person willing to make a
difference. Studios are made up of different people with different ideas coming
together to work in unison. An architecture practice starts off a project with a
concept, that concept is taken forward to create the details of every part of
the structure. The concepts are what make the structures. The final product is
an accumulation of manpower in different areas.
An architectural practice follows its legal path of forming
drawings, creating tenders, choosing contractors, executing work and handing
over a finished product. There are many problems related to working with such
ideas in mind. A practice is associated with generating revenue, which tends to
take away from the ideas that go into a project and cannot be executed to the
type of work that the firm must take up in order to keep the studio afloat.
As an aspiring architect I feel that I would like to work in
an environment where there is a meaning behind everything you do. I believe a
strong concept and a sense of belief in the design can help make a work better.
The workplace itself should be an environment where everyone is allowed to give
their inputs and work in various mediums of the practice.
Having done an internship the last six months I feel that
working at an office has taught me how to work with other people, how to work
together and how to work separately. Working gave me a sense of responsibility
ad I was able to see what all goes into making a practice function well.
As an individual working for someone else I feel I bring a
sense of organization to the practice and a mind that is willing to learn knew
things and grasp new ideas. In an office where there are people with so many
different creative backgrounds one needs to be able to voice their own opinions
as well as be open to others.
In the next 25 years I envision my practice to be a small
one of 4-5 people. In a small office people are able to work across various projects
and aspects of a project. They are able to interact with one another and gain
more knowledge. Smaller practices are able to work on projects of genres and
are able to get a feel of what they work well with.
The studio will be located in a cityscape such that the firm
can be exposed to different styles. Working in a city one gets to do urban
scale projects, urban housing projects as well as able to expand and work in
nearby locations to make societal changes or learn about rural forms of
architecture as well.
The clientele for the firm is based on the relationships we
are able to form with people and the work we are able to get. The idea of the
firm is to help those who need it and help make a change in society. The firm brings the ideas of an NGO but
working for people who will be able to afford the services.
Looking at the next 25 years one hopes that a practice will
function to be able to go through with a design without compensating on it for
revenue purposes. But with the evolution of technology one can see a future
where architecture practices are modeled around a modular architecture that
works and is able to give the required revenue.
One can see in the coming years the trends that are influencing architecture and architecture practices, starting with the idea of sustainable architecture. The trends are forcing practices to work in a certain direction and may also be a catalyst for the formation of a modular architecture of the times.
With the onset of prefabrication methods there will no
longer be a need for architects. All homes will be made modular and charged
according to a suggested system. In the next 25 years, one sees a downfall of
the creative process.
Submitted by:
Rishika Dhawan
A/2544/2012
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