Goal determination, right competitions and the right team

Why am I participating? What do I want to get out of this? Architectural competitions can be both time and energy consuming, and most of them requires you to pay a registration fee! So always ask yourself these questions before taking on the challenge [10].

Simply, don’t be the guy/girl, who is interested in the parametric design and coding, and then you go for an green building design competition, which is actually requires knowledge of energy saving tools! Moreover, if you are a student, then “ideas” competitions would fit you more than competitions that have a legitimate end product. Whether the competition shall result in construction or whether it just calls for ideas will have a big influence on your entry. While civil codes and attention to the cityscape will be of great importance for actual construction, idea competitions will allow for more outrageous designs [1].

To choose the right team means – to work not only with friends, but rather with people that you can relay on, who have responsibility and good skills, and, most importantly, those, who can go with you until the very end of the competition project! It is better to choose the team members that you have previously worked with, so you know their strengths and weaknesses. You always need to know exactly your role in a team (weather you are a leader of the team or just a part of it). The best team always has members, who are specializing on certain things (e.g. green building codes, engineering, architectural design, urban planning, communication, computer presentation, etc.). Clear division of responsibilities in a team – is the key to your competition success! We suggest that during your collaborative work you create a list of team members, their responsibilities, and, most importantly, make them agree on it. Then start working on the project concept, keeping in mind that every team member work on the concept ideas in his/her field (specialization), then get together and discuss. Combination of the individual work and group work usually provides better results! Keep in mind that teamwork requires flexibility, adaptation and mental cooperation. If you have a room, where all team can work together – it is a good opportunity to “connect” and feel united; it also saves travel time! However, remember that sometimes team members need to retreat to their “own private spaces”. All people are different (e.g. extraverts, introverts) - to get the right partners is not an easy job.

In chapter 6 we have discussed different kinds of competition – conceptual and real commissions, make sure that you choose the right path to maximize you and your team’s advantage. Unless you want to try out different things to test your potential and learn more. As pointed out earlier, once you know what you would like to get out of this competition and you get together the right team (people who have previously worked with on other projects), it is not very difficult to choose the right path.

Entry criteria, previous winners, judgment criteria

If you ask: “How are competitions won today?” Some will answer you that you are participating in “their” competitions, thus need to know what politicians want and what risks they are willing to take. It is less concern international student competitions, but nevertheless it is still the issue. Beyond that public always wish to be backed by a name brand to justify the jury decision. But you and your team can still win a competition by demonstrating that your building is more profitable, efficient, and sustainable, not on the basis of formal criteria but rather on economic terms, aiming at turning yourself from “unbranded architect” to “starchitect”. [6]

The least thing you wish to happen to your idea is any mistake caused by misunderstanding or neglecting the design brief (entry criteria), so you should read it very carefully! The better you comprehend the requirement, the more convincing your work would probably be to the juries. If the organization has hosted competitions in the past, try check out some previous winners’ work, as it might help you know their focus and criteria more clearly, in order to avoid any obvious mistakes. [11]

Some most common key judgment criteria may include:

- Ecological sustainability

- Urban design and planning, integration into the building history, social and environmental/landscape context

- Architecture/ innovative design methods to achieve maximum sustainability

- Functionality of the building operation, meeting the special specification

- Operating feasibility; compliance with the budget, cost-efficient maintenance and operation

(for real commission competition)

The balance between concept and practicality

Dear students, please remember that “every architectural project begins like a work of fiction…Architecture will always involve telling stories – it is much fiction as it is engineering and material science.” [3] This is not saying bold concept is more important than reality, but don’t miss the forest for the trees. Also it is true that specific project will demand the specific approach. However, please remember, no matter what competition you are interest in, it will certainly ask for something new. That means probably it is not about creating for the sake of being new, but it is backed by a good reason.

To produce credible competition project requires intensive study and awareness of the context that one is drawing from, in order to fabricate anew, along with the knowledge of contemporary green building trends, initiatives, codes, constructions, and materials (to name the few). And remember, the art of architectural speculation is lost, if it never returns to the built environment. [3].