Every project at CITRA Associates begins not with drawing, but with listening. Before a single line is put to paper, we need to understand the people who will use the building — how they live, what they value, what frustrates them about existing spaces, and what they hope a new building will make possible. This understanding is not a formality. It is the foundation on which every design decision is built.
This article explains our process in detail — not as a marketing exercise, but as a practical guide for anyone considering working with an architecture firm and wondering what the experience actually involves.
Stage 1: Discovery and Brief Development
The first meeting with a new client is primarily a conversation. We ask questions — sometimes questions that seem to have little to do with architecture. How do you spend your mornings? How often do you have people over? Where do your children do their homework? What does the best house you have ever visited feel like, and why?
These questions reveal the design priorities that a client could not easily articulate if asked directly. The home that emerges from this discovery process is always more aligned with how the family actually lives than one designed to a generic brief or standard floor plan template.
Following this initial conversation, we prepare a written design brief that captures our understanding of the project's programme, priorities, constraints, and aspirations. The client reviews and refines this brief before any design work begins. This document becomes the reference against which all design decisions are evaluated throughout the project.
If you want to prepare the best possible brief before meeting with any architect, our detailed guide on what a design brief is and what to include will help you organise your thoughts in a way that any architect will find invaluable.
Stage 2: Concept Design
With the brief confirmed, we develop two or three concept design options. These are not detailed designs — they are spatial ideas that test different approaches to the fundamental questions: how should the building sit on its plot, how should spaces be organised relative to each other, how can the building make the most of its orientation and natural light?
Concept designs are presented with sketches, diagrams, and mood boards that communicate spatial quality without the false precision of detailed drawings. At this stage, we want the conversation to be about ideas and experience, not dimensions and door positions.
The client selects a preferred concept direction, and we refine it into a schematic design — a more resolved version of the preferred concept with accurate dimensions, confirmed room positions, and preliminary material palette. This is the design most clients recognise as the moment when their project starts to feel real.
Stage 3: Statutory Approvals
Once the schematic design is approved by the client, we prepare the documentation required for building permit submission to GHMC or HMDA. This involves translating the design into the specific drawing formats and scales required by Telangana building regulations, compiling all supporting documents, and submitting through the TS-bPASS online system.
We manage the entire approval process on behalf of our clients — responding to queries from the reviewing authority, providing additional information if requested, and tracking application status through to approval. Our familiarity with Hyderabad's approval process means we prepare submissions that minimise the risk of objections or resubmission requirements.
The approval stage runs in parallel with the next design stage wherever possible to minimise overall project timeline.
Stage 4: Working Drawings and Specifications
Working drawings are the full technical documentation from which contractors build. They include detailed floor plans, elevations, sections, structural drawings coordinated with architecture, MEP layout drawings, joinery details, and written specifications that describe the quality and type of every material and component in the building.
The quality of working drawings is directly correlated with the quality of the built outcome. Detailed, coordinated drawings reduce contractor assumptions, prevent specification gaps that generate disputes, and give tender-stage contractors enough information to price accurately.
Our working drawings include 3D visualisations of key spaces alongside traditional 2D drawings to ensure clients have a clear understanding of what they are approving before construction begins. Changes at drawing stage cost a fraction of what they cost once construction has started.
Understanding the schematic and working drawing stages in detail helps clients engage more productively with this process. Read our guide on what happens during the schematic design phase to prepare for these conversations.
Stage 5: Construction and Supervision
Construction is where the design is realised, and consistent architectural supervision is what ensures the result matches the intent. We conduct regular site visits — typically weekly during active construction phases — reviewing work against drawings, approving material samples, resolving site queries, and maintaining a quality log that tracks inspections and any remedial work required.
We also manage the contractor relationship throughout construction — certifying payment applications against work completed, reviewing variation claims, and managing the programme to maintain the agreed timeline. Our presence on site is not merely observational; we are actively managing quality and progress on our clients' behalf.
This supervision engagement is one of the most important distinctions between working with a professional architecture firm and engaging a draftsman or design-only service. Buildings built without consistent architectural supervision frequently diverge from the approved design in ways that compromise quality and — in some cases — safety.
Stage 6: Completion and Handover
As construction approaches completion, we conduct a comprehensive snagging exercise — a methodical room-by-room inspection of the building to identify any workmanship deficiencies, incomplete items, or non-compliances with the specifications. The contractor resolves all items on the snagging list before practical completion is certified.
We then assist with obtaining the Completion Certificate from GHMC or HMDA, which requires a final site inspection by the authority and confirmation that the building has been constructed per the approved plans.
Handover includes providing the client with a complete set of as-built drawings, material specifications, equipment manuals, and warranty documents — the building's full technical record for use during its lifetime of occupation and eventual renovation.
To see the results of this process across a range of project types, browse our completed projects. To understand the full scope of services we offer, visit our services page.
See our work: ISKCON Master Plan Nerella and Rainbow Vistas development.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a typical CITRA Associates project take from first meeting to completion?
A typical residential project with CITRA Associates — from initial consultation through design, approvals, construction, and handover — takes approximately 24 to 36 months depending on size, complexity, and the speed of the approval process. Commercial projects may have tighter timelines when client occupancy requirements drive the schedule. We provide detailed programme schedules at the outset of every project.
Does CITRA Associates manage the construction process or only the design?
CITRA Associates provides full architectural services including construction supervision and project management as part of our standard engagement. We conduct regular site visits, review contractor submissions, certify payment applications, and manage the quality control process through to completion certificate. This end-to-end involvement is what ensures the built result matches the design intent.
How involved does the client need to be during the design process?
Client involvement is essential particularly at key decision points — brief finalisation, concept approval, schematic design review, material selections, and working drawing approvals. We structure the process so these decision points are clear and well-prepared, minimising the time clients need to spend while ensuring they have full ownership of every significant design choice.
