In this guide — 6 sections
The Architecture Essential Plan at ₹49/sq.ft. covers the full design set — floor plans, all four elevations with sections, 3D views, a complete structural set with bar bending schedule, approval drawings with liaison, unlimited design-stage revisions and four site visits. This is a design fee, not a construction cost. The two are priced separately and differ by orders of magnitude.
Architecture fees are among the smaller numbers in a home-building budget and among the most consequential. The drawings decide the layout you will live with, the structure the house stands on, and what the construction will actually cost to execute — before a single material is ordered. To discuss your project, Buildiyo is on +91 70921 66366, +91 70921 66266 and +91 70921 66177.
₹49 per sq.ft. is Buildiyo’s stated rate for this architecture package. It is not a market-wide rate for Chennai, and other practices price differently against different scopes. Package specifications are revised periodically, so confirm the current inclusions, revisions, site visits and deliverables with our team before engaging. Final pricing depends on built-up area, number of floors, design complexity and the applicable package terms.
What Is an Architecture design package?
An architecture design package bundles a defined set of design deliverables into a single rate per square foot of built-up area, instead of pricing each drawing separately. It typically spans layout, elevations, visualisation, technical drawings and approval support, with an agreed number of revisions and site visits. What you are buying is the deliverables list — the rate on its own describes nothing until you know what sits behind it.
Design Fee or Construction Cost? They are not the same thing
This is the most common confusion in package pricing, and it is worth settling before anything else. Both are quoted per square foot of built-up area, which makes them look comparable. They are not.
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| Aspect | Architecture package | Construction package |
|---|---|---|
| What you are buying | Drawings and professional service | Materials, labour and execution |
| Rate basis | Per sq.ft of built-up area | Per sq.ft of built-up area |
| Order of magnitude | Tens of rupees per sq.ft | Thousands of rupees per sq.ft |
| When you pay | Through the design stage | Against construction milestones |
| What it determines | Almost everything the build will cost | What the build actually costs |
| Can it be redone later? | Yes, on paper, cheaply | Only by demolishing something |
Set the two rates side by side and the scale becomes obvious. A design package priced in tens of rupees per square foot sits against construction packages priced in thousands — design is a low single-digit percentage of the construction rate. Yet almost every decision that drives the construction figure is made on those drawings: how many bathrooms, how much window area, how the structure spans, what gets specified. Economising on design to protect the construction budget usually works out backwards, because a poorly resolved drawing set produces variations, and variations are priced at construction rates rather than design rates.
Read the bottom of that table as a pair. Design has the most leverage over the final cost and the least lock-in — it determines almost everything and can be redone on paper. Construction has the least leverage and the most lock-in — it merely executes, and undoing it means demolishing. Those two properties move inversely, and the inversion is the whole argument. It means the two budgets are not independent lines you can balance against each other: design spend works by removing decisions before they can become variations, so a rupee moved out of design to protect the construction budget does not move sideways, it moves down a dependency and usually comes back larger. The uncomfortable corollary is about timing rather than money. Because design is the cheap thing to redo, the right moment to spend unusual care is precisely when it feels least urgent — nothing is happening on site, no one is waiting, and the project seems not to have started. Budget pressure arrives much later, at finishing, by which point the only lever still available is the one that cannot be pulled cheaply.
Economising on Design to Protect the Build Budget Works Out Backwards
A poorly resolved drawing set produces variations — and those are charged at thousands per square foot, not tens.
What the Package includes at ₹49/sq.ft.
Per the current specification published on the packages page. Scope may be revised alongside pricing, so confirm before engaging.
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| Deliverable | What it covers | In this package? |
|---|---|---|
| Floor plans | Plans for each level of the house | Included |
| Elevations | All four faces, with sections and a material schedule | Included |
| 3D visualisation | Three exterior views plus key interiors | Included |
| Structural drawings | Complete set with bar bending schedule | Included |
| Approval drawings | Submission set with liaison support | Included |
| Design revisions | Unlimited during the design stage | Included |
| Site visits | Four, at key construction stages | Included |
| Vastu guidance | Room-level | Included |
| Drawing formats | PDF and editable DWG files | Included |
| Electrical and plumbing layouts | Point positions, circuits, supply and drainage | Not stated — confirm |
The deliverable that matters most
If you check one line in that table, make it the bar bending schedule. It tells a steel fixer exactly how to cut and bend every bar, and it only exists where structural design has genuinely been carried out. A package listing “working drawings” may mean detailed architectural drawings; a package listing a complete structural set with a bar bending schedule has crossed into engineering. That is the threshold at which a design set becomes buildable without engaging anyone else.
Two things worth a second look
You receive drawings in editable DWG format as well as PDF, which means the set can be handed to another consultant later without being redrawn — an ownership benefit that rarely gets mentioned. And electrical and plumbing layouts are not clearly stated on the current specification, so ask specifically whether they are covered. You will need them before construction either way.
Who This Package suits
- Homeowners who want one team accountable for the whole design set rather than coordinating separate consultants.
- Anyone who expects to explore the design properly rather than settle it in a couple of rounds.
- Projects where someone should visit site during construction to check that what is built matches what was drawn.
- Owners who want the structural set included rather than commissioned separately.
If your needs are narrower — a layout and an approval set, without structural design or site visits — a lower tier may fit better. All levels sit side by side on the full architecture packages page so you can see exactly what changes between them.
A package listing “working drawings” may mean detailed architectural drawings. A bar bending schedule has crossed into engineering.
— The one line to check when comparing packages
How the Architecture Process Works, and what to confirm
- Share requirements and site informationFamily size, rooms, parking, future plans, plot documents and any Vastu preferences. A complete brief is what makes the revision rounds productive.
- Develop the layoutFloor plans for each level, refined through the design stage. Everything downstream follows the layout.
- Settle the exteriorAll four elevations with sections and material selections — not just the face seen from the road.
- Review in 3DThree exterior views plus key interiors, so decisions are made on something you can actually see.
- Complete the structural designFoundations, framing and reinforcement, with the bar bending schedule.
- Prepare and submit approval drawingsWith liaison support through the approval process.
- Issue the coordinated setIn PDF and DWG, checked so the drawings agree with one another before construction planning starts.
- Site visits during constructionFour visits at key stages — best used where work is about to be permanently concealed.
What to confirm before choosing a package
- The current scope document — ask for the latest rather than relying on any published summary, including this one.
- How built-up area is measured, since the fee scales directly with it.
- Where unlimited revisions ends and priced variations begin.
- Which stages the four site visits cover, and who attends.
- Whether electrical and plumbing layouts are included or engaged separately.
- What the design fee percentage is and when it becomes payable, since it is stated separately from the package rate.
- What sits outside the package — statutory approval fees themselves are separate from design.
Test the Measured Figure Against a Package Rate
Once drawings exist, quantities can be measured item by item. Where the two broadly agree you have reassurance; where they diverge sharply, ask why before work begins.
How Architectural Planning connects with construction
A complete drawing set is what makes accurate costing possible. Until the drawings exist, any construction figure is an estimate based on area; once they exist, quantities can be measured item by item. A BOQ estimator turns those measured quantities into a construction budget you can review line by line.
From there, the construction packages in Chennai page sets out what each specification level covers, so you can test the measured figure against a package rate. Running design and construction under one team removes the coordination burden that otherwise falls to the homeowner — checking that a beam does not land where a window was drawn, and that services fit the spaces allowed for them. You can see how that works through our house construction company in Chennai page.
What is included in the Architecture Essential Plan at ₹49/sq.ft.?
Floor plans for each level, all four elevations with sections and a material schedule, three exterior 3D views plus key interiors, a complete structural set with bar bending schedule, approval drawings with liaison support, unlimited design-stage revisions, four site visits at key construction stages, room-level Vastu guidance, and drawings in both PDF and editable DWG format. Confirm the current scope with Buildiyo before engaging.
Is ₹49 per sq.ft. the cost of building the house?
No. This is the design fee only — what you pay for drawings and professional service. Construction is priced separately and at a different order of magnitude: construction packages run in thousands of rupees per square foot against tens for design. The two are quoted independently and should be budgeted separately.
What makes this package different from the lower tiers?
Structural drawings. The entry-level drawing set does not include them, and they are not clearly stated at the tier below this one. Here they are included as a complete set with a bar bending schedule, which is the point at which the drawings become sufficient to build from without commissioning structural design separately.
Does unlimited revisions mean unlimited changes at any stage?
It means unlimited during the design stage. Once drawings are issued and construction planning begins, changes are normally treated as variations rather than revisions. Ask where that boundary falls before you engage, since it is the practical limit on the word.
How is the fee calculated?
The rate is multiplied by the built-up area of the house. Confirm how built-up area is measured before comparing this with any other quotation, because different practices measure differently and the same house can produce different figures.
Are electrical and plumbing layouts included?
They are not clearly stated at this level on the current specification. Ask specifically whether they are covered. You will need them before construction regardless, because conduits are laid before a slab is cast and pipes are chased in before plastering.
Who is this package suitable for?
Homeowners who want one team responsible for the full design set rather than coordinating separate consultants, who expect to explore the design rather than settle it in two rounds, and who want someone visiting site during construction to check that what is built matches what was drawn.
Judge it on the deliverables list
Four points to close onAn architecture design package is worth assessing on what it produces, not on its rate.
At this level the set includes structural drawings with a bar bending schedule, which is what makes it buildable without commissioning anything further.
Confirm the current scope, the revision boundary and the site visit stages in writing.
And remember that this is a design fee, budgeted separately from construction.
Find the Right Package for Your Project
Tell us your plot details and what you need the drawings to do. We will confirm the current scope and pricing for your built-up area, and show what changes between the levels. Sree Narayana Complex, Velachery, Chennai 600042.
Judge it on the deliverables list
An architecture design package is worth assessing on what it produces, not on its rate. At this level the set includes structural drawings with a bar bending schedule, which is what makes it buildable without commissioning anything further.
Confirm the current scope, the revision boundary and the site visit stages in writing — and remember that this is a design fee, budgeted separately from construction.