Architectural design competition

An architectural design competition is a type of competition in which an organization or government body that plans to construct a new building invites architects to submit a design proposal. The winning design is usually chosen by an independent panel of design professionals and stakeholders (such as government and local representatives). This procedure is often used to generate new ideas for the building design, to stimulate public debate, to generate publicity for the project, and to allow emerging designers the opportunity to gain exposure. Architecture competitions are often used to award commissions for public buildings: in some countries rules for tendering public building contracts stipulate some form of mandatory open architectural competition.^[1]

Winning first prize in a competition is not a guarantee that the project will be completed. The commissioning body often has the right to veto the winning design, and both requirements and finances may change, thwarting the original intention. The 2002 World Trade Center site design competition is an example of a highly publicized competition where only the basic elements of the winning design by Daniel Libeskind will appear in the finished project.

History

Architecture competitions have a more than 2,500-year-old history. The Acropolis in Athens was a result of an architectural competition, as were several cathedrals in the Middle Ages. During the Renaissance, many projects initiated by the church have been decided through design competition. Examples are the Spanish Stairs in Rome or in 1419, a competition was held to design the dome of the Florence Cathedral, which was won by Filippo Brunelleschi. Open competitions were held in the late 18th century in several countries including the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, France and Sweden.^[2]

In 19th century England and Ireland there have been over 2,500 competitions in five decades, with 362 in London alone. The Institute of British Architects drafted a first set of rules in 1839, and a set of formal regulations in 1872. The German Regulations were introduced in 1867. In the same period in the Netherlands an association for the advancement of architecture (Maatschappij tot Bevordering van de Bouwkunst) started organising conceptual competitions with the aim of stimulating architects' creativity.^[3]

Competition for the design of the Peace Palace in The Hague, 1905
Entries (from left to right) by Otto Wagner, Franz Heinrich Schwechten, Hendrik Petrus Berlage and built design by Louis M. Cordonnier

Competition types

There are a variety of competition types resulting from the combination of following options:^[4]

Open competitions (international, national or regional) or Limited / Selected / "Non-open" competitions, depending on who is allowed to participate sometime preceded by an open pre-qualification process;
Project competitions or Ideas competitions, depending on whether the aim is to build the project or to generate new ideas only;
One stage or Two stage competitions, depending on the scale and complexity of the competition;
Anonymous or Cooperative" procedures
Student design competitions.

Rules and guidelines

The rules of each competition are defined by the organiser; however, these often follow the guidelines provided by the International Union of Architects,^[5] respectively the relevant national or regional architecture organisation. Competition guidelines define roles, responsibilities, processes, and procedures within a competition^[6] and provide guidance on possible competition types, eligibility criteria, jury composition, participation conditions, payments, prizes, publication of results and other aspects.^[7]^[8]

In France design competitions are compulsory for all public buildings exceeding a certain cost.^[1]

Major international architectural design competitions

Most significant among architectural competitions are the ones which are internationally open, attract a large number of design submissions, and the winning design is built.

Competition Name	Location	Year	Winner(s)	Design entries
GeoCenter Møns Klint	Møn Island	2002	PLH Architects	292
Federation Square	Melbourne	1997	Lab Architecture Studio	177
Millennium Bridge	London	1996	Norman Foster, Sir Anthony Caro, and Ove Arup	200
Felix Nussbaum Museum	Osnabrück	1995	Daniel Libeskind	296
Royal Danish Library	Copenhagen	1993	Schmidt Hammer Lassen	179
Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum	Helsinki	1992	Steven Holl	516
Austrian Cultural Forum	New York	1992	Raimund Abraham	226
Jewish Museum	Berlin	1989	Daniel Libeskind	165
Bibliotheca Alexandrina	Alexandria	1989	Snøhetta	523
Bibliothèque Nationale de France	Paris	1989	Dominique Perrault	244
Tokyo International Forum	Tokyo	1987	Rafael Viñoly	395
Opéra Bastille	Paris	1983	Carlos Ott	750
La Grande Arche de la Défense	Paris	1982	Johan Otto von Spreckelsen	420
Parc de la Villette	Paris	1982	Bernard Tschumi	471
Parliament House of Australia	Canberra	1979	Romaldo Giurgola	329
Centre Georges Pompidou	Paris	1971	Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers	681
Toronto City Hall	Toronto	1956	Viljo Revell	500
Sydney Opera House	Sydney	1955	Jørn Utzon	233
ANZAC War Memorial	Sydney	1929	Charles Bruce Dellit	117
Tribune Tower	Chicago	1922	John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood	260
Houses of Parliament	London	1835	Charles Barry	98