To many clients - the choice of an architect presents no difficulty, but to many others the choice is not easy. The client's desire to see the sketch designs of several architects before he commissions him is understandable, but to ask an architect to submit a sketch design is to ask him to do the essential creative work for which he should be properly paid. If more than one or two architects are commissioned payment to each would be expensive. Architects, however, are allowed to compete against each other without charging a fee in an open architectural competition held under Council of Architecture Guidelines.

The architectural competition is a balance of advantages. Architects who would not have been considered in the normal way for an important commission, perhaps for a building of national importance have an opportunity to prove their talent and ability.

Many architects regard competitions as a valuable opportunity for research, perhaps for the study of a new building type, or for exploring the possibilities of new technical ideas and for gaining new experience. On the other hand, the profession's willingness to allow its members to compete without fee is a remarkable concession to the promoter without parallel in any other profession.

For the promoter also, there is balance of advantages. A competition will cost him a little more than if he had commissioned an architect privately and it will take a little more time. But this must be balanced against the chance to draw upon the talents of all those who respond to the architectural challenge, and the possibility than an outstanding design will emerge. He is making a public demonstration that he cares about architecture, and can take legitimate pride in his determination to find the best architect and the best design he can get. He will be rewarded with a greater public interest than is generally shown in new buildings.

Competition Guidelines as laid by the Council of Architecture protects and safeguards the interest of both the promoter and the competitors. While ensuring the promoter a design of high standard, it also ensures that each competitor competes on like conditions and within the same limitations.

The purpose of these Guidelines is to explain the architectural competitions system, and to help the client who is thinking of promoting a competition to make up his mind whether a competition is the right answer to his architectural problem, and, if so, which kind of competition would be suitable. It also tells, a would be promoter how competitions are organised, and what are the responsibilities of promoter.

Competition brings out a wide range of ideas and concepts and gives the promoter the choice of selecting that which fits into his specific requirements.

One of the principal aims of the competition is to explore hidden talents among younger Architects. To many competitors, it often is the first step to a successful career.

Competition Guidelines as laid down by the Council of Architecture protect and safeguard the interests both of the promoter and the competitor.

While ensuring the promoter a design of high standard and adjudged as such by prominent Architects acting as Assessors, it also ensures that each competitor competes on like conditions and within the same limitations.

Both the promoter and the competitor are assured by these guidelines that the entries will be judged only by those who are qualified to interpret the competitors' presentations and to judge if the design selected meets with the promoter's requirements.

The guidelines therefore lay considerable emphasis on the mandatory requirement of Assessors and the qualifications.

The appointment of the Assessors should therefore be the immediate and first step the moment the promoter decides to go in for a competition. The President of the Council of Architecture, if so requested by the promoter, may suggest a panel of names experienced in this type of project proposed, for appointment as Assessors. Their responsibilities commence with the approval of the brief of the competition project. The Assessor may even help to prepare the brief.

For practical reasons, this responsibility is often taken by the Senior Assessor who would then be available to advise the promoter on all matters connected with the competition from the promoter's decision to hold the competition till the final award.

Briefly the Assessors (or the Senior Assessor) will:

1. Assist in the preparation and approval of the brief.
2. Study and understand the requirements of the Local Authorities
3. Visit and examine the project site, if necessary.
4. Advise on the appointment of the Technical Advisers, if necessary.
5. Finalise the competition conditions.
6. Prepare the final report/award.

The project brief is the most important document. The success of the competition will depend upon the clarity and the completeness of the brief. This can be achieved by a very close cooperation between the Promoters and the Assessors (or the Senior Assessor) in the preparation and finalisation of the brief.

Further the participation of the Assessors in the preparation of the brief will enable them to understand fully the intent of the promoter. Also as qualified Architects they would be capable of visualizing the development with reference to the promoter's requirements, site conditions etc. and in interpreting the competition entries in these terms.

For complicated projects such as Hospitals, Airports etc. which are under constant development or projects encompassing highly technical elements, a Technical Adviser would be considered necessary in the initial stage to help the Promoter and the Assessors to draw up the brief and subsequently to advise the Assessors on the technical aspect of the competition entries.

Once the promoter's requirements, the site conditions, the requirements of the local authorities etc. have been formulated into the competition brief, the Assessors (or the Senior Assessor) can advise the promoter on the type of competition that should be promoted.

Schedule 1 of the Competition Guidelines describes in detail the types of competitions, which could be adopted and successfully conducted.

The conditions for Architectural competition given in Schedule 3 specifies the procedure to be followed by the promoter for conducting competitions and these conditions have been drawn up to ensure that each competitor competes on similar conditions, that the selection is based entirely on merit, that in appreciation of the effort that would be put in by each competitor suitable and adequate prize monies and honoraria are assured, that anonymity of the competitor is maintained during the competition and that each competitor enjoys Copyright and Right of Ownership.

Response from well established Architects as well as large number of young Architects to an open competition can best be assured by wide publicity. This is all the more essential for projects which are of public interest.

Publicity could begin with the invitation of Architects to participate through widely read media. This could be followed by press conferences and finally by the publication of the Assessor's report and public exhibition of all the entries.

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of these Guidelines is to indicate the principles upon which competitions will be conducted and the rules which must be observed by a promoter for conducting competitions.

These guidelines have been drawn up in the interest of both the promoter and the competitor and to ensure that the architectural competitions are properly conducted and that selection of the design will be on merit alone and will satisfy the promoter's requirements.

The Code of Professional Conduct of the Council of Architecture does not allow Architects to give unpaid services in competition with each other and competitive designs shall only be submitted through competition organised within the framework of these guidelines.

GUIDELINES :

ARTICLE 1 : ELIGIBILITY TO COMPETE:

Participation in any and all competitions shall be open to:

1. Architects i.e those who are registered with the Council of Architecture under the Architects Act, 1972 on the date of announcement of the competition and thereafter.
2. Firms in which all the partners shall be registered with the Council of Architecture under the Architects Act, 1972 on the date of announcement of the competition and thereafter.¹
3. Students of a Teaching Institution, the qualifying examination of which is recognised by the Council of Architecture provided that no member of the staff of the said institution is the sole Assessor or in a jury of three or more Assessors, only one Assessor is from the staff of the said institution.
4. Neither the Promoter of the competition, Assessor/s engaged for the competition nor any of their associate, partner or employee shall compete, assist a competitor or act as an architect or joint architect for the competition project.

Competitor may be requested to submit a proof of qualification, copy of his valid Registration certificate issued by the Council of Architecture, and in case of a student, a certificate from the head of his institution which is qualified as per 3 above.

ARTICLE 2 :Competition

1. The word 'Competition' shall apply to any competition described in Schedule 1 and participation shall be open only to those qualified as per Article 1.
2. The draft competition conditions including time table, registration fees, prize monies/honoraria, board of assessors, the programme etc. of competitions shall have been finalised within the framework of the guidelines prescribed by the Council of Architecture before any announcement is made by the promoter of the competition.
3. The conditions of the competitions shall clearly give:
   Conditions based upon guidelines prescribed by the Council of Architecture.
   Type of Competition.
   Purpose of the competition and intentions of the promoter.
   Nature of the problem to be solved.
   All practical and mandatory requirements to be met by the competitors.
   Number, nature, scale and dimensions of the documents, plan and/or models.
   Estimates if required in standard form issued with the conditions.
   Nature of prizes.
   Names of Assessors.
   Necessary information required for conducting the competition.
4. The competition shall be conducted in English.
5. All competition designs shall be submitted anonymously.

ARTICLE 3 :BOARD OF ASSESSORS:

The Board of Assessors shall at all times include Architects who are registered with the Council of Architecture and shall be in a majority of atleast one.

ARTICLE 4 : Prizes, Honoraria & Mentions :

No competition shall be conducted without adequate premium/honoraria and the competition conditions and the media announcements must state the amounts and number of prizes for the open competition and the amount of premium or honorarium to each competitor in a limited competition and in the second stage of a two stage competition.

ARTICLE 5 : Copyright & Right of ownership :

1. Each competitor shall retain Copyright in his own competition design.
2. Each competitor shall retain the right of reproduction of his own competition design.

ARTICLE 6 :

All competition designs including those disqualified by the Board of Assessors shall be exhibited for atleast one week, together with a copy of the signed report of the Board of Assessors. The exhibition shall be open to public free of charge.

¹Amended by the Council of Architecture at its 38th Meeting held on 26th & 27th July, 2001.

It is extremely important for competitors who may be asked to pay substantial registration fees to know exactly when they are registered and under what conditions the registration fee will be refunded. It is also important for intending competitors to receive sufficient information when they are invited to apply for the competition conditions to enable them to judge whether the competition falls within the guidelines for architectural competition of the Council of Architecture and whether they are capable of tackling the problem set by the competition.

The Council of Architecture recommends 3 parts Procedure:

PART I

A descriptive leaflet and / or an advertisement in general and professional media. These should include the following information:

1. Name of the Promoter
2. Purpose and nature of the competition. This should be carefully worded to give a clear idea of the scope of the project whether it is a project or an ideas competition, single or 2 stage competition and the type of material that a competitor would be asked to submit.
3. The prizes (or honoraria)
4. Names of Assessors
5. Persons eligible to compete
6. An approximate time table
7. The procedure for registration, the last date for registration and the date by which the competition conditions would be made available by the promoter.

Copies of this leaflet with a registration form attached (see model form) should be available from the promoter.

PART II

An intending competitor makes an application the bodies listed in the advertisement/leaflet for the registration form, completes the registration form as per the instructions given on the form and sends it by registered post to the promoter together with the registration fee (if any).

The registration form should be sent by the intending competitor within the time stipulated. It will establish his eligibility to compete. The registration is only complete when the promoter accepts the competitor's eligibility by placing his name on the competition register and informs him in writing accordingly.

PART III

The competition condition will be sent to the intending competitor by the promoter only when his eligibility is established and his name is entered in the competition register.

REGISTRATION FORM

(All entries in block letters)

                                                                        Registration No. ...............................................................................

                                                                       OR Name of Educational Institution:

                                                                                  .............................................................................................

                                                                                  .............................................................................................

Year of Study.........................................................

Competitor (s)/ Name (s)                                               (1) Mr. / Ms.......................................................................

                                                                                                         (Surname)           (1st Name)       (2nd Name)

                                                                                    (2) Mr. / Ms. ......................................................................

                                                                                                         ( Surname)           ( 1st Name)       ( 2nd Name)

                                                                                    (3) Mr. / Ms .......................................................................

                                                                                                         ( Surname)           ( 1st Name)       ( 2nd Name)

Address:          (In case of entry by a team, give the address of the first mentioned person
who will be registered by the promoter as a leader.)                                

                                                                              .................................................................................................

                                                                              .................................................................................................

                                                                              .................................................................................................

Registration fee (By Demand Draft              Demand Draft for Rs. ...................................................(enter amount)

in favour of

......................................................)           no .......................................... dated .................................................

(indicate name of promoter)                        drawn on ......................................................(enter name of the Bank)

payable at

.........................................

(enter name of the city) 

Declaration : (To be signed by Competitor i.e. an individual Architect or one of the partners of a firm of Architects or leader of a team of Architects)¹

I declare that at the time of application to register for the competition, I was registered with the Council of Architecture incorporated under the Architects Act 1972 and that the Registration with the Council of Architecture will be maintained, till the award of the Board of Assessors and thereafter till the completion of the project if I am declared and appointed as the Architect for the project.

OR

I declare that at the time of application to register I was studying Architecture in the____________ (indicate year of study) year of Architecture at the __________________________(Indicate name of educational institution) (Optional clause if students are admitted).

Signature....................................................

Date...........................................................

Notes:

1. Registration is not transferable.
2. Ideas competitions: Students may register either individually or in team with other students.
3. Two Stage and Single Stage competitions: Students are not permitted to register and may therefore only participate in association with an accredited architect.

Title of Competition (Enter name of project and location)

¹ Amended by the Council of Architecture at its 38th meeting held on 26th & 27th July, 2001.

Type of Competitions

1. PROJECT AND IDEAS COMPETITIONS

Competitions may be either "Projects" or "Ideas" competitions or in certain circumstances a combination of both. The aim of a Project competition is to find the best solution for an actual building project and to appoint its author to carry out the commission. Competitions of Ideas are set as an exercise to elucidate certain aspects of architectural and town planning problems. The winner of such a competition may not be commissioned to carry out the project, and hence students of architecture may participate at the discretion of the promoter.

2. CLASSIFICATION OF COMPETITIONS
(I) OPEN COMPETITIONS

Competitions in which all Architects are invited to participate through an announcement by advertisements in suitable media and through circulars which may be issued by the promoters.

Open competitions for projects estimated at less than Rs. 10,00,000/-may be restricted to Architects who have their main or branch office in the State of the project site.

(II) LIMITED COMPETITIONS FOR COMPETITIONS BY INVITATION

Competitions in which limited amount of Architects (approx. 5 to 8) selected by the promoter on the advice of the Senior Architect Assessor or Board of Assessors, are invited to participate. Each participant who submits his designs shall receive an honorarium.

(III) SPECIAL COMPETITIONS

Besides competitions described in (i) and (ii) above a competition may also combine town planning as well as design problem, and may involve the use of industrial components or participation of developers. In such competitions participation may be required to be limited to professionals or group of professionals with certain definite expertise.
In such cases the competition announcement shall clearly define the field of expertise.

3. COMPETITION ORGANISATION

Competitions may be organised in one or two stages.

(I) SINGLE STAGE COMPETITION

In single stage competition the competition entries shall be fairly complete drawings i.e. plans, section, elevations, etc. to a suitable scale

and sufficient to explain the scheme as set out in the competition conditions.

The designs so submitted shall be assessed by the Assessors for the award of the prizes and the appointment of the architect.

Such competitions are recommended for small and simple project.

(II) TWO STAGE COMPETITIONS

In two stage competition, the first stage is for soliciting ideas and therefore the competition entries at this stage would be limited to planning on broad basis and drawings to a suitable scale sufficient to indicate the intentions of the competitor.

Designs submitted in the first stage shall be assessed by the Assessors for selecting a small number of competitors (between 5 and 10). The author of these selected designs will be invited to take part in the second stage of the competition, and each architect so invited would be paid a specified sum.

In order to maintain anonymity, each competitor will be informed individually whether he has been or has not been invited to participate in the second stage. Correspondence in this respect will be the responsibility of the Promoter or Professional Adviser, if appointed. It will also be his responsibility to ensure that the names of those invited and those rejected are not revealed either to the assessor or to any person.

To ensure this anonymity the envelopes containing the names of the competitors shall be opened by the Promoter or Professional Adviser if appointed. After the intimation has been sent to each competitor they shall be resealed until the final award.

After the end of the first stage, the Board of Assessors, may, if found necessary and with the approval of the Promoter, clarify or amplify points in the competition conditions for the benefit of the second stage competitors. Such clarification or amplification shall not in any way disclose directly or indirectly or even inadvertently any of the designs submitted in the first stage to those invited for the second stage.

The period between the Assessors award for the first stage and submission of designs for the second stage shall not exceed six months. Only under exceptional circumstances period may be extended.

The second stage of the competition may be limited to only a part of the subject dealt with in the first stage.

Members of the Board of Assessors shall be the same for first stage and second stage of the competition.

The designs submitted for both the first stage and the second stage shall be exhibited and/or published only after the final award of the second stage competition.

If any design selected for the second stage is published or exhibited before the final award of the second stage has been declared, it will be disqualified.

Two stage competitions are recommended for town planning and for large scale or complex project.

III. REGIONAL SPECIAL CATEGORY COMPETITIONS

This type of competition is intended for small projects of charitable organisations in which four to six local firms will compete for the appointment as the Architect.

No premiums are given and the winner shall be appointed to carry out the project.

Advisers

(I) TECHNICAL ADVISER

Where appropriate and necessary the promoter shall in consultation with the Senior Architect Assessor/Board of Assessors appoint one or more technical advisers to assist in the preparation of the brief for the competition project and to advise the Board of Assessors, only when called upon to do so, on the competition design entries.

The advise of the technical adviser will be limited to his expertise and he will have no voting rights.

(II) PROFESSIONAL ADVISER

For a two stage competition a Professional Adviser who shall be an Architect registered with the Council of Architecture may be appointed. He will not be connected with the Board of Assessors or attend any of its meetings.

It will be the responsibility of the Professional Adviser to maintain the anonymity of each competitor and those selected for the second stage of the competition.

On completion of the first stage of the competition the sealed envelopes containing the names of the competitors shall be opened only by the Promoter or Professional Adviser if appointed and he shall without disclosing any of the names to anyone inform each competitor individually whether he has or has not been invited for the second stage. All the envelopes shall then be resealed by the Professional Adviser/Promoter till the final award.

If after the first stage, the Board of Assessors wish to clarify or amplify any aspect of the competition project, such clarification or amplification shall be conveyed to the competitors selected for the second stage only by the Professional Adviser/Promoter.

Board of assessors

1. The Board of Assessors shall be set up before the promotion of the competition. Their names and those of the reserve members of the board, if any shall be stated in the competition conditions.

2. The Board of Assessors shall be composed of a smallest reasonable number of assessors which number shall be an odd figure.

3. The size of the Board shall depend upon the size of the competition project and preferably the number of Assessors shall not exceed seven.

4. Of the total number of Assessors the number of Assessors who shall be Architects and registered with the Council of Architecture shall be in a majority of at least one.

5. The number of Assessors representing the promoters shall not exceed two.

6. Each member of the Board shall examine and approve the competition conditions before they are made available to the competitors.

7. The Board of Assessors may invite Technical Advisers as experts in specialised fields to assist in the assessment of competition entries. Such Technical Advisors shall not have any voting rights.

8. It is essential that atleast 2/3rd of the voting members of the Board shall be present at all meetings of the Board. The Board shall elect a Chairman from among its members.

9. In the event of death of an Assessor before or during the assessment of the competition or his inability to continue to act on account of illness or any other cause, another Assessor shall be appointed in his place by the promoters without affecting the majority of atleast one, of the Assessors who are Architects and registered with the Council of Architecture.

10. No promoter of the competition and no assessors engaged upon it nor any partner, associate, or employee of either shall compete or assist a competitor, or act as architect or joint architect for the project.

This regulation shall not be applicable to:

a. Staff or present students of an Institution of which a member of the regular teaching staff is on the Board of Assessors provided he is not the sole Assessor and the Board consists of two or more Assessors of whom only one is a member of the teaching staff of this or any other Institution.

b. Employees of a Government, Semi-Government or a Public Sector organisation of which one of its employees is on the Board of Assessors provided he is not the sole Assessor and the Board consists of three or more Assessors of whom only one is such an employee.

11. In two stage competitions, the same members of the Board shall judge both stages of the competition. In no case may a competition as a single stage competition proceed to a second stage except with knowledge of the Council of Architecture and arrangement for payment of appropriate honoraria to the competitors involved, over and above the prize money provided for in the original competition. In the event of such a secondary competition taking place, the Assessors appointed for the original competition must be reappointed by the promoters.

12. Any drawings, photographs, models or other documents not required by the competition condition shall be excluded by the Assessors before examining the competitors' entries.

13. The Assessors shall disqualify any design which does not conform to any of the conditions, instructions or requirements of the competition.

14. The Board of Assessors must make an award. The award shall be final and shall be made public in open competitions, and intimated individually to all those participating in limited competition, by a date stated in the conditions. The Board of Assessors when distributing the award money shall make full use of the amounts set aside for prizes in the competition conditions. In an ideas competition, a first prize shall be awarded.

15. The decision of the Board of Assessors shall be taken by a majority vote with a separate vote on each entry. The award including the Assessors report to the promoter, shall be signed by all the members of the Board before they disperse.

16. The decision of the Board of Assessors regarding selection and placement of competition design shall be final and binding on the promoter and all competitors and shall be reached by a majority.

17. The Board of Assessors will make its award known to the promoter in a formal statement signed by atleast a simple majority of its members. The statement will indicate the number of designs examined and the order of the prizes awarded. This statement must be completed before the envelopes are opened and the Assessors disperse.

18. The fees, travel expenses and out of pocket expenses of the members of the Board shall be paid by the promoter.

1. Land Survey.

2. Photographs of site.

3. Printing of Brochure.

4. Advertisement.

5. Communication Expenses.

6. Administrative and Legal Expenses.

7. Exhibition.

8. Publication of competition/select entries.

9. Contingent travel, conveyance, boarding, lodging etc. for Professional Advisor / Project Coordinator, Assessors and others.

10. Other incidental expenses.