Whether a student or a licensed professional architect, you will always be presented with restrictions that prevent you from exploring your creativity, which could be a client, budget, or deadline. As a profession with a great deal of creativity,over time, it can lead to a”creative block ” which eventually becomes somewhat demotivated and exhausted. Entering an architectural competition can be a great opportunity to refresh your creativity, build a reputation, and further develop your design abilities.
Architecture competitions started more than 2500 years ago, with many famous projects that have become landmarks. Over the years, these competitions have become the best solution for investors to get the best among the best-selected projects by the jury that fits their purposes and solves the presented problem. The aim of the journey of participating in a competition isn’t always to WIN. Sometimes winning is just a side goal compared to the other skills gained during this journey. Here are some of them:
- Explore creativity and think outside the box
With the constant restrictions that architects face in schools and firms, there is no room left for their creativity to flex. Architecture competitions, on the contrary, allow you to explore, discuss and compete your creativity with others.
- Enhance your portfolio
A portfolio is the language of architecture that speaks loudly of your hard work, experience, and thirst for years of learning. It is the first thing anyone looks at that can stack the odds in your favor. These competitions will help you stand out from the crowd and show your future employer your willingness to try new things. It would be a massive asset for your portfolio, especially for young architects who didn’t get much exposure during school.
- Build up your confidence
Architecture competitions give you room to stand up , make your ideas speak for you, and make decisions without fear or dire consequences with complete control of your work. All these combined can increase your self-confidence in yourself and your abilities.
- Recognition
Most architecture competitions come with some popularity depending on the number of participants and the scale of the project. These competitions are well-covered by many world renowned architecture magazines and platforms.Thus, you get international features that increase your chances of getting your next big client.
- Chance to have one of your designs built
One of the best feelings an architect can have is to see his design come to life, especially as a young professional. Getting hands-on with big projects can be difficult. Winning an architecture competition can lead you to end up with a built design.
- Chance to build your reputation
Under the pressure of competition, it is possible to lose, however, if you technically lose, you still have a high opportunity to work for a great architecture firm that digs for an ambitious architect.
So, if you have made up your mind and decide to participate, here are the types of architecture competitions which you have to choose carefully because it could be your make-or-break point:
- Open Design and Idea Competitions: In this type, anyone who fulfills the required criteria of this competition can participate. These competitions can be a huge opportunity for young and start-up architecture firms to get global recognition. The announcement for these competitions is made public through advertisements in online magazines.
- Project or Ideas Competitions: This type can be based upon a real live project or an ideas-based solution or can be combined.
- Invited or Commissioned Design Competitions: In this type, Invitations are sent to architects previously selected by the organizer. The selection is made by the panel of judges or pre-agreed upon with the investors. Every participant receives an honorarium for their design proposal.
- Competitive Interviews: In this type, the jury will invite you and your team if you have a team to represent your idea.So, ensure that your presentation skills are brushed up.
- Single or Two-stage Competitions: This type depends upon the scale of the project and how far its complexity is. First, in single-stage competitions you should prepare all the requirements and data to explain your solution. Then,the jury panelists announce the winner. Usually, single-stage competitions are ideal for small-scale projects.
Second, on the contrary, Two-stage competitions are held for more complex projects such as town planning and housing proposals. In the initial phase, the participants are invited to submit a proposal indicating their intentions for the design project. In the final step, the jury panelists select the best who should send their second and final proposal with more in-depth and complex requirements for final evaluation.
- Anonymous Competitions: In this type, the participants are invited to send their designs for evaluation and award-granting deliberations. In these competitions, all information about the participants is hidden from the jury, which makes the judging process fair.
As it is always said, everyone likes to win. So here are some case studies of the winning projects, where authors share the whole process of designing, with unique few tips that led them to victory. According to Architecture Competitions Yearbook 2021:
- Tip (1):
Choose a competition you can easily relate to.
- Tip (2):
It is better to work with local projects, local materials, and local construction techniques ,which will make a point in your favor as sustainability becomes the new architectural direction.
- Tip (3):
“Representation” to win an architecture competition, you need to balance words and images and leave enough space to wonder about causes, consequences, space and time.
- Tip (4):
Start thinking about the visuals and the presentation from the beginning and try out as many different options as you can. Sometimes even after months of design, you might have to start all over again, so be resilient.
- Tip (5):
It’s best if the project has such a clear and simple idea that one scheme is enough to explain.
- Tip (6):
Focus your work on colors, light, and sun reflection.
To conclude, as architects, we often find inspiration-well has run dry, and here comes the golden ticket of participating in architecture competitions that can be a re-fuel to your creativity and a huge opportunity to widen your recognition among well-known architects. Winning is great but not always essential. You must try to learn from your mistakes and gain experience that will, later on, help if you veritably keep trying. As Shannon L. Alder said: “Life always begins with one step outside of your comfort zone.” May this participation become a milestone in your career. Therefore, Leave no stone unturned.
References:
- Architecture Competitions Yearbook (2021). Competition archi [online] (last updated 2022) available at: https://yearbook.archi/ [Accessed 22. Jul.2022].
- Show It Better (2021). How to win an architecture competition Architecture Competitions Yearbook 2020 Review. [YouTube]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6JvzdCLtAs [Accessed 22. Jul.2022].
- Design Hustle with Ali (2018). What are the types of architectural competitions? [YouTube]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ9Wpb7ji04 [Accessed 22. Jul.2022].
