Architectural design competition
Encyclopedia
An architectural design competition is a special type of competition
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...

 in which an organization or government body that plans to build a new building asks for architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

s to submit a proposed design for a building. 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 allow emerging designers the opportunity of gaining exposure. Architecture competitions are often used for public buildings in Denmark, Switzerland and Germany, while in France design competitions are compulsory for all public buildings exceeding a certain cost.

Attaining the first prize in a competition is not a guarantee that the project will be completed. This is due to any number of local issues that can develop at the proposed construction site. The owner of the site must also be able to obtain financing for construction and often has the right to veto the winning design. The original 2002 World Trade Center Master Design Contest in New York City is a prime example of a highly publicized competition where only the basic elements of the winning design by Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind, is an American architect, artist, and set designer of Polish-Jewish descent. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect...

 will appear in the finished project.

History

Architecture competitions have a more than 2,500-year-old history. The Acropolis
Acropolis of Athens
The Acropolis of Athens or Citadel of Athens is the best known acropolis in the world. Although there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as The Acropolis without qualification...

 in Athens was a result of an architectural competition, as were several cathedrals in the Middle Ages. In 1419 a competition was held to design the dome of the Florence Cathedral, which was won by Filippo Brunelleschi
Filippo Brunelleschi
Filippo Brunelleschi was one of the foremost architects and engineers of the Italian Renaissance. He is perhaps most famous for inventing linear perspective and designing the dome of the Florence Cathedral, but his accomplishments also included bronze artwork, architecture , mathematics,...

. Open competitions were held in the late 18th century in several countries including the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, France and Sweden.

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
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...

 drafted a first set of rules in 1839, and a set of formal regulations in 1872. 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.

Competition types

There are a variety of competition types resulting from the combination of following options:
  • Open competitions (international, national or regional) or Limited / Selected competitions, depending on who is allowed to participate;
  • 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;
  • Student design competition
    Student design competition
    A student design competition is a specific form of a student competition relating to design. Design competitions can be technical or purely aesthetic. The objective of technical competitions is to introduce students to real-world engineering situations and to teach students project-management and...

    s.

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
International Union of Architects
The International Union of Architects is an international non-governmental organization that represents over a million architects in 124 countries. The UIA was founded in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1948. The General Secretariat is located in Paris...

, respectively the relevant national or regional architecture organisation. Competition guidelines define roles, responsibilities, processes, and procedures within a competition and provide guidance on possible competition types, eligibility criteria, jury composition, participation conditions, payments, prizes, publication of results and other aspects.

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
Geo Centre Møns Klint
Møns Klint
Møns Klint, , is a striking landmark and tourist attraction along the eastern coast of the Danish island of Møn in the Baltic Sea. The bright chalk cliffs stretch some 6 km from the park of in the north to the in the south. Some of the cliffs fall a sheer 120 m to the sea below...

 
  Møn Island
Møn
-Location:Møn is located just off the south-eastern tip of Zealand from which it is separated by the waters of the Hølen strait between Kalvehave and the island of Nyord, at the northern end of Møn. Further south is Stege Bugt...

 
2002 PLH Architects
PLH Architects
PLH Architects is an architectural firm based in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1977 by Palle Leif Hansen.-Selected projects:* East Asiatic Company headquarters , Midtermolen, Copenhagen...

 
292
Federation Square
Federation Square
Federation Square is a civic centre and cultural precinct in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....

 
  Melbourne 1997 Lab Architecture Studio
Lab Architecture Studio
LAB Architecture Studio is a firm of architects and urban designers based in Melbourne, Australia with international offices in London and Beijing. LAB architecture studio is a practice pursuing the formulation of original, challenging contemporary building projects...

 
177
Millenium Bridge
Millennium Bridge (London)
The Millennium Bridge, officially known as the London Millennium Footbridge, is a steel suspension bridge for pedestrians crossing the River Thames in London, England, linking Bankside with the City. It is located between Southwark Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge...

 
London 1996 Norman Foster, Sir Anthony Caro, and Ove Arup
Ove Arup
Sir Ove Nyquist Arup, CBE, MICE, MIStructE known as Ove Arup, was a leading Anglo-Danish engineer and generally considered to be one of the foremost architectural structural engineers of his time...

 
200
Felix Nussbaum Museum
Felix Nussbaum Haus
The Felix Nussbaum Haus is a museum in Osnabrück, Germany, which houses the paintings of German-Jewish painter Felix Nussbaum. The building also houses an exhibition space, which focuses on racism and intolerance.-Origins:...

 
  Osnabrück 1995 Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind, is an American architect, artist, and set designer of Polish-Jewish descent. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect...

 
296
Royal Danish Library    Copenhagen 1993 Schmidt Hammer Lassen
Schmidt hammer lassen
Schmidt hammer lassen architects is an international architectural practice founded in 1986 in Aarhus, Denmark. It currently has four offices in Aarhus, Copenhagen, Oslo and London....

 
179
Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum
Kiasma
Kiasma is a contemporary art museum located on Mannerheimintie in Helsinki, Finland. Its name kiasma, Finnish for chiasma, alludes to the basic conceptual idea of its architect, Steven Holl. The museum exhibits the contemporary art collection of the Finnish National Gallery founded in 1990...

 
  Helsinki 1992 Steven Holl
Steven Holl
Steven Holl is an American architect and watercolorist, perhaps best known for the 1998 Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum in Helsinki, Finland, the 2003 Simmons Hall at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the celebrated 2007 Bloch Building addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City,...

 
516
Austrian Cultural Forum
Austrian Cultural Forum New York
The Austrian Cultural Forum New York is one of Austria’s two cultural representation offices in the United States...

 
  New York 1992 Raimund Abraham
Raimund Abraham
Raimund Johann Abraham was an Austrian architect.- Life :Raimund Johann Abraham was born in Lienz, Tyrol. He studied architecture at the Technical University in Graz and in 1959 established an architectural studio in Vienna, where he soon emerged as a leading avant-gardist. In 1964 he moved to the...

 
226
Jewish Museum
Jewish Museum Berlin
The Jewish Museum Berlin , in Berlin, Germany, covers two millennia of German Jewish history. It consists of two buildings. One is the old Kollegienhaus, a former courthouse, built in the 18th century. The other, a new addition specifically built for the museum, designed by world-renowned architect...

 
  Berlin 1989 Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind, is an American architect, artist, and set designer of Polish-Jewish descent. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect...

 
165
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina or Maktabat al-Iskandarīyah is a major library and cultural center located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in the Egyptian city of Alexandria...

 
  Alexandria 1989 Snøhetta  523
Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...

 
  Paris 1989 Dominique Perrault
Dominique Perrault
Dominique Perrault is a French architect. He became world known for the design of the French National Library, distinguished with the Mies van der Rohe Prize in 1996....

 
244
Tokyo International Forum
Tokyo International Forum
The is a multi-purpose center in Tokyo, Japan.One of its halls seats 5,000. In addition to seven other halls, it includes exhibition space, a lobby, restaurants, shops, and other facilities....

 
  Tokyo 1987 Rafael Viñoly
Rafael Viñoly
Rafael Viñoly is an Uruguayan architect living in the United States.-Biography:He was born in Montevideo, Uruguay to Román Viñoly Barreto, and Maria Beceiro ....

 
395
Opéra Bastille
Opéra Bastille
L'Opéra Bastille ' is a modern opera house in Paris, France. It is the home base of the Opéra national de Paris and was designed to replace the Palais Garnier, which is nowadays mainly used for ballet performances....

 
  Paris 1983 Carlos Ott
Carlos Ott
Carlos Ott is a Uruguayan architect who resides in Canada. He became famous when he won the first prize in 1983 for the construction of the Opéra de la Bastille in Paris, which was inaugurated on July 14, 1989...

 
750
La Grande Arche de la Défense
Grande Arche
La Grande Arche de la Défense is a monument and building in the business district of La Défense and in the commune of Puteaux, to the west of Paris, France...

 
  Paris 1982 Johann Otto von Spreckelsen
Johann Otto von Spreckelsen
Johann Otto von Spreckelsen was a Danish architect.He was born in Viborg and studied at the Viborg Katedralskole and Royal Academy of Arts in Copenhagen, and later served as director up to his death....

 
420
Parc de la Villette
Parc de la Villette
The Parc de la Villette is a park in Paris at the outer edge of the 19th arrondissement, bordering the Boulevard Périphérique, which is a ring road around Paris, and the suburban department of Seine-Saint-Denis.-History:...

 
  Paris 1982 Bernard Tschumi
Bernard Tschumi
Bernard Tschumi is an architect, writer, and educator, commonly associated with deconstructivism. Born of French and Swiss parentage, he works and lives in New York and Paris. He studied in Paris and at ETH in Zurich, where he received his degree in architecture in 1969...

 
471
Centre Georges Pompidou
Centre Georges Pompidou
Centre Georges Pompidou is a complex in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles, rue Montorgueil and the Marais...

 
  Paris 1971 Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano is an Italian architect. He is the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal, Kyoto Prize and the Sonning Prize...

 and Richard Rogers
Richard Rogers
Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside CH Kt FRIBA FCSD is a British architect noted for his modernist and functionalist designs....

681
Toronto City Hall
Toronto City Hall
The City Hall of Toronto, Ontario, Canada is the home of the city's municipal government and one of its most distinctive landmarks. Designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell and landscape architect Richard Strong, and engineered by Hannskarl Bandel, the building opened in 1965...

 
  Toronto 1956 Viljo Revell
Viljo Revell
Viljo Revell was a Finnish architect of the functionalist school. Internationally Revell is best known for designing the Toronto City Hall....

 
500
Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...

 
  Sydney 1955 Jørn Utzon
Jørn Utzon
Jørn Oberg Utzon, , AC was a Danish architect, most notable for designing the Sydney Opera House in Australia. When it was declared a World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007, Utzon became only the second person to have received such recognition for one of his works during his lifetime...

 
233
ANZAC War Memorial
ANZAC War Memorial
The ANZAC War Memorial, completed in 1934, is the main commemorative military monument of Sydney, Australia. It was designed by C. Bruce Dellit, with the exterior adorned with monumental figural reliefs and sculptures by Rayner Hoff....

 
  Sydney 1929 Charles Bruce Dellit
Charles Bruce Dellit
Charles Bruce Dellit was a prominent Australian architect in the Art Deco style. He was generally known as Bruce Dellit.-Family History:...

 
117
Tribune Tower
Tribune Tower
The Tribune Tower is a neo-Gothic building located at 435 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Tribune and Tribune Company. WGN Radio also broadcasts from the building, with ground-level studios overlooking nearby Pioneer Court and Michigan Avenue. CNN's...

 
  Chicago 1922 John Mead Howells
John Mead Howells
John Mead Howells was an American architect. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts as the son of author William Dean Howells, he studied architecture at Harvard and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he met his future partners, I. N. Phelps Stokes and Raymond Hood...

 and Raymond Hood
Raymond Hood
Raymond Mathewson Hood was an early-mid twentieth century architect who worked in the Art Deco style. He was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, educated at Brown University, MIT, and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. At the latter institution he met John Mead Howells, with whom Hood later partnered...

 
260
Houses of Parliament
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...

 
London 1835 Charles Barry
Charles Barry
Sir Charles Barry FRS was an English architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens.- Background and training :Born on 23 May 1795 in Bridge Street, Westminster...

98

Further reading

  • De Jong, Cees and Mattie, Erik: Architectural Competitions 1792-1949, Taschen, 1997, ISBN 3822885991

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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