UNtil now, no government has declared architecture and planning as an industry. What is the reason ?It is not been traced so far. Architecture and planning, is a field of visual art and science. It also has very deep relations and far-reaching effects on the annual budget of any nation. The annual budget has conceptual link to the architectural designs.

The capital allocated for any scheme, project and plan involves architectural design. For example,if the government has to buy a million-dollar sensitive device for ministry of health and the device is so sensitive that a thousand part of fraction, dusty, water or high intensity sun light can damage it for ever, how can it be saved.

Only architectural designs of qualitative space can save it by considering all aspects and elements of design. The device will be destroyed within few months,if the space quality is not in accordance with the activity of the device.

It is the productive part of the budget which multiplies the investment. Besides, research and development, designing and manufacturing of creative products can earn billions of dollars for the national exchequer.

Education, health and housing depend on quality of service. If the services with excellent quality are provided, these are according to budget commitments.

In budgeted development work, quality of services has very vast meaning in technical aspect. It also accommodates the architectural design in its principles of budget-making. In developed countries, importance is given to the architectural designs, because they are aware and conscious about this aspect of development work.

In the development works’ quality in terms of architectural design between developed nations and Pakistan, there is a time lag of 200 hundred years. We are also backward as compared to developing nations such as Singapore, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Turkey. We have to pay serious attention to architectural designs from conceptual to execution stage. Our public hospitals, clinics, schools, colleges and houses lack services compared to the Far East public buildings.

The reason is that, we have never given any importance to architectural design of international standards for our developmental projects, which the developed countries have accorded extra-ordinary importance. That’s why, their cities, buildings, roads, ports, railway stations etc are neat, clean and environment- free in every aspect. Since the architectural design and its urban planning aspect is so strong in its concept, it’s benefiting its natives in every manner.

The worse part of any budget is social sector in terms of investment, services, excellent architectural design and revenue generation from provided services. One of core reasons for failure of our budgets in the perspective of development works is also the lack of architectural design elements.

In private sector particularly in education, health and housing fields, the entrepreneurs’ consider excellent architectural design as a vital element to their business.

Naturally, they know that excellent architectural design is a blessing for their business assets, services, equity, security in terms of mortgage, rent and sale. The sign of good architectural design is that it gives congenial environment and satisfaction to its end-user. The public sector building lack such a concept. They have no good responsive and attractive features in their design to appeal or satisfy its user.

A part of annual development works in budget consists of hospitals, primary, secondary and higher education schools, colleges, community centres, basic health centres, clinics, pubic markets, public housing projects etc. The concept for these developmental works has a very deep relation with architecture and planning.

Architecture is not just to raise the walls. It is completely wrong conception about architecture. After a few months, serious problems emerge in services, maintenance, and management of building. It means waste of time, energy and capital in form of precious revenues. On the other hand, it also opens up avenues for corrupt elements.

Lack of services, or low standard services for water, ventilation, bathrooms, furniture, overcrowded people and poor maintenance is a very common thing of every government building. Because in design developing stage, nothing has been considered and visualized with regard to these services.

With limited capital, good architectural design can be formed or produced by any talented architect. In case of a project, where funds are available in abundance, but a architect is not talented, he will sink the project and capital through poor designing and which later becomes a ghost house for the area people.

A good architect despite constraint of capital, time and design, can design such buildings that can benefit its end user in every aspect. The reason for failure of government design buildings is that no serious work has been done in this regard. That’s why middle class and elite class, does not like to take services from government hospitals, schools, colleges and maternity homes.

Instead, they go to the private hospitals, schools, colleges, maternity homes etc. If quality of service improves, it will increase the government revenues more than 10 times in health and education sector by attracting more people.

Another important flaw, in the annual development programmes is the design consideration or requirements, design appraisal and documentation, civil, mechanical, electrical and environmental works of the project. These two crucial mistakes sink the investment of government. It appears very strange that such projects are given clearance by responsible departments without the proper documentation of project. Whether it is portfolio of drawings, costing, schedule of work, tender documentation, construction management,there is no coordination, relation and scientific thought to economics and fiscal study of building. In such a sense, how can the space of building becomes revenue-generating unit.

In Karachi, Jinnah Hospital and Agha Khan Hospital are good examples for comparison. Both the hospitals have nearly the same area in volume, man power and covered area but the revenue generating of both the hospitals has a ratio of 1:500 difference. There are many reasons but one of the core reasons is the difference of architectural design.

Architectural design and provision of services have a very deep relation with each other. It is not possible that the design of building is bad and one can increase the efficiency by providing good services in terms of high tech machines, instruments and devices. Naturally by incorporating good services in worse design, one has to improve or upgrade the quality of architectural design of building in terms of space quality. Most people think that by providing average quality space, and by incorporating excellent quality services in space, such as expensive HVACS (heating ventilation and cooling system), furniture, materials etc. they can improve the quality of space. It is a misconception. It has been observed that such kind of spaces consume more money to improve. Whereas any space designed by a good architect, assuming aesthetics, beauty, simplicity, functionality, form, materials within the constraint of economics are more durable with design age, energy efficient and cost efficient.

Restructuring of each and every federal, provincial and local bodies’ development and amenities designing organization is necessary to follow excellent architecture and planning features and elements.