Architectural Competitions

{professional practice}

Fifth year (2005 batch) U.S.A.P.

Ishan Puri Sakshi Khanna
Architectural Competitions have a long history, and have produced many extremely successful
buildings. A competition will cost the promoter 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 an outstanding design.

Purpose And Benefits Of These Competitions:

•Building attracts great public interest .

•Client's desire to see the sketch designs of several architects is fulfilled at affordable cost.

•Architects who would not have been considered in the normal way have an opportunity to prove their
talent and ability. To many competitors it is the first step to a successful career.

•Opportunity for research, perhaps for the study of a new building type, or for exploring the
possibilities of new technical ideas and concepts.

•Even if the architect is not successful in competition, his taking part in it forms an added
qualification for the jobs and also offer valuable opportunities to gain experience which will be useful
later in their practice,
ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITION GUIDELINES

Purpose of architectural competition guidelines:

•Protect and safeguard the interest of both the promoter and the competitor
•Ensuring the promoter a design of high standard and adjudged by prominent architects acting as
assessors.
•It ensures that each competitor competes on like conditions and within same limitations.
•it ensures that entries will be judged only by people qualified for the job and thus also define the
requirements to be an assessor.

It includes 6 articles and 6 schedules:

Article 1 : eligibility to compete

article 2 : competition
article 3 : board of assessors
article 4 : prizes, honoraria & mentions
article 5 : copyright & right of ownership
article 6 : exhibition of entries

SCHEDULE 1---TYPE OF COMPETITIONS

SCHEDULE 2---ADVISERS
SCHEDULE 3---CONDITIONS FOR CONDUCTING ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITIONS
SCHEDULE 4---BOARD OF ASSESSORS
SCHEDULE 5--- PRIZE MONEY
SCHEDULE 6--- ASSESSOR FEES
GUIDELINES :

ARTICLE 1 : ELIGIBILITY TO COMPETE :

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.

3. Students of a Teaching Institution, the qualifying examination of which is recognized 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 program etc. of competitions shall have been finalized
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 :

i. Each competitor shall retain Copyright in his own competition design.

ii. Each competitor shall retain the right of reproduction of his own competition design.

ARTICLE 6 : EXHIBITION OF ENTRIES :

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.
SCHEDULE 1---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 wire certain
definite expertise.

In such cases the competition announcement shall clearly define the field of expertise.
3. COMPETITION ORGANISATION

Competitions may be organized 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 ripened 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
competitions. 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 organizations 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.
SCHEDULE 2---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.
SCHEDULE 3---CONDITIONS FOR CONDUCTING ARCHITECTURAL
COMPETITIONS

Careful preparation of the competition conditions including schedule of requirement shall be of

primary importance for the success of the competition and as such adequate time shall be allowed
for this phase of the competition.

1. CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION
i. The publication of competition shall constitute an offer of a contract by the promoter, and, by
submission of design for the competition. the competitor accents this contract.
ii. The competition condition together with any replay to the competitors questions constitute a legal
basis for this contract which is legally binding on both the promoter and competitors.

2. GENERAL CONDITIONS
i. The competition project brief and the conditions of the competition may be prepared by the
promoter in consultation with the Senior Architect Assessor. They shall however be approved by
the Senior Architect Assessor and the Board of Assessors before publication and issue to the
competitors.
ii. The conditions including the program of requirement of the competition shall be identical
for all competitors. A copy of complete competition conditions shall be filed with the Council
of Architecture. Answers to the competitor's questions shall also be sent to the Council. of
Architecture for their record.
iii. The conditions shall clearly indicate which of the requirements are mandatory and which
could be freely interpreted by the competitor. The freedom in case of the latter shall be as wide as
possible.
iv. The information supplied to the competitors shall be specific and shall not be open to misinterpretation.
Supplementary information if any issued by the Board of Assessors shall be sent to all the competitors
simultaneously.
vi. The conditions of the competition shall indicate the promoter's priorities with reference to the solution of the
problem (e.g. functional aspects, economy of construction or in use, solution to technical or circulation problems etc).
vii. The condition of the competition shall state the exact use to which the promoter will put the winning design.
Designs shall not be put to any other use or altered if any way except by agreement with the author.
viii. Where a fixed amount is required to be remitted to with the promoters by the applicants for the 'Conditions of the
Competition', it shall be refunded in full to the applicant if he decides not to compete and return the 'Conditions
of the Competition" in full within four weeks prior to the date of submission of the design.

Submission of design in Competition shall imply acceptance, by the competitor, of the conditions of competition.

ix. Each design shall be accompanied by a declaration on the prescribed form signed by the competitor in a properly
sealed envelope that the design is his bonafide work and that the drawings have been prepared under his
supervision and that he undertakes to accept the award of the Assessors as final and binding.
x. In case two or more architects form an association for the purpose of the competition then there shall exist a
partnership deed for the purpose of carrying out the project in the event the said association wins the
competition. Reference to this partnership must be made in the form of declaration.
xi. The Board of Assessors must make awards which shall be final and binding and shall be made public by a date
stated in the conditions.
xii. The Board of Assessors when making an award may at its discretion adopt "promoters' choice".
In this procedure the Board of Assessors shall select not more than three designs which in their opinion are of equal
merit and the selection of the winning design from the designs so selected by the Assessors could be made by the
promoter.
The promoter may for making the final selection discuss with the authors of the selected designs their respective
entries.
3. PRIZE MONEY & HONORARIA

I. The condition for any competition must state the number of prizes and the amount of each
prize money. This must be related to the size of the project, the amount of work involved
for the competitors and the expenses he would incur for the preparation for the competition.
II. In Ideas competition and in competitions such as those for Town planning, where
subsequently the work is generally carried out by official bodies, it is particularly important to
allot adequate prize money to re compensate the competitors for the ideas and the work
they have done.
III. The promoter shall undertake to accept the decision of the Board of Assessors and to pay the
prize monies within one month of the announcement of the competition results.
IV. Each participant in a limited competition (or competition by invitation) shall receive an
honorarium.
V. In a two stage competition a reasonable honorarium shall be paid to each of the
competitors selected to take part in second stage. This sum which is intended to be
reimbursed to them for the additional work carried out in the second stage shall be stated in the
conditions for the competition.

4. ANONYMITY

The anonymity of the competitors shall be maintained until the final award of the Board of Assessors
and in the interest of the competition, rigorous measures shall be take: to ensure that this principle is
adhered to. No competitor shall terminate his anonymity in any way whatsoever till the final award.
The anonymity of each competitor shall be guaranteed by adopting suitable measures.
5. COPYRIGHT & RIGHT OF OWNERSHIP

i. Each competitor shall retain copyright in his own competition design.

ii. The competition design awarded the first prize only shall be used by the promoter upon
commissioning by him the author of the sake design to render professional services to carry
out the project.
iii. No other design whether permitted or not shall be used wholly or in part by the
promoter.
iv. The promoters right on the design awarded the first prize or the designs selected covers one
execution only. The competition conditions however may provide for repetitive worn and
shall specify the terms thereof.
v. Each competitor shall retain the right of reproduction of his design.

6. INSURANCE

The promoter shall insure for damage or loss by fire, floods, or by any other reason
Competitors design drawings submitted in competition when he assumes responsibility for them
and for the duration of his responsibility and also for loss during transit when the design drawings
are being returned to the competitor. The amount of such insurance shall be stated in the
competition conditions.
7. COMPETITION TIME TABLE

i. The notice of competition shall clearly indicate the last date for application for the competition
conditions and the last date for submission of the design drawings.
ii. The conditions of the competition shall clearly indicate:
The last date for submission of questions.
Approximate date when the answers to the questions will be sent to the competitors.
The final date for the dispatch of entries by the competitors and for the receipt of the same by the
promoter.
Sufficient time shall be allowed for transport, more particularly for open competitions where the
competitors will be from all over the country.
The interval between the date of dispatch and the date of delivery of the entries to the promoter
should be between five and ten days.
In case of late delivery of the entry dispatched before the last date for dispatch, it will be the
responsibility of the Board of Assessors to decide whether the entry was dispatched in accordance
with the competition time table and if circumstances can permit its admission for judging.
iii. The competition time table shall under no circumstances be shortened.
iv. The Board of Assessors shall decide upon the judging dates at the early stage of the competition
and the date of announcement of the awards shall also be included in the conditions of the
competition.
In case of two stage competitions however the conditions of competition shall indicate dates limited to
the first stage only. All the dates in respect of the second stage shall form part of the conditions with
reference to the second stage.
v. in case of unavoidable delay in judging. a new date shall be fixed by the Board of Assessors which
shall be confirmed by all its members and publicly announced.
8. COST ESTIMATES
The competitors may be required to submit cost estimate of their design on areas or volume basis.
The cost estimate shall however not be a determining factor in the Assessors decision except
where cost limits have to be rigidly imposed and is so stated in the competition conditions.

9. TERMINATION OF THE COMPETITION

The promoter may terminate the competition if in the opinion of the Board of Assessors none of
the competition designs could be declared as a winning entry. In this event the promoter under the
advice of the Board of Assessors shall award second, third and additional prizes as declared and
none of the competitors will be considered for appointment as the architect for the project and the
promoter will not be liable to make any further payments to any of the competitors.

10. APPOINTMENT OF ARCHITECT

i. The award of the first prize to the competition design places the promoter under an obligation
to appoint its author as the architect for the commissioning of the project.
ii. If the Board of Assessors shall be satisfied that there is a valid objection to the appointment of
the author of the winning design as the architect he may be required to associate with a senior
architect or a firm of architects of his choice whose qualifications shall be approved by the Board
of Assessors. Failing this the design placed next on merit shall be selected for commissioning and its
author shall be appointed as the architect subject to similar conditions.

The award of the Board of Assessors shall not be varied for any reasons.
iii. If no instructions are given to the author of the design selected by the Assessor to proceed within
twelve months from the date of the award, then he shall receive payment for his services in connection
with the preparation of the Competition drawings of a sum equal to 1.00 percent on the amount of the
estimated cost.

iv. The selected Architect having been appointed to carry out the work shall be paid in accordance with the
Schedule of Charges determined and published by the Council of Architecture in consultation with the
Promoters, and the premium already paid shall be deemed to be a payment on account.

11. EXHIBITION OF ENTRIES

i. All competition designs including those disqualified by the Board of Assessors shall be exhibited for
at least 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.
ii. The promoter shall notify all the competitors and shall also announce in suitable media the days and
place of the public exhibition of the competition.
iii. The promoters shall submit to the Council of Architecture a copy of the signed report of the jury
and if requested photographs of the permeated designs for possible publication.

12. RETURN OF DESIGN DRAWINGS

All drawings, plans, models etc. submitted by the competitor except those of the winning design shall
be returned by the promoter at the end of the public exhibition at his own cost. The drawings, plans, models
of the winning design shall be returned to its author on being appointed as the Architect for the
Project or after six months from the date of announcement of the award by the Board of Assessors
whichever is early.
SCHEDULE 4---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 specialized fields to assist in the
assessment of competition entries. Such Technical Advisors shall not have any voting rights.
8. it is essential that at least 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. to 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 engage: 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 rot 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 organization 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.
Assessor [ judge of the competition ]

The appointment of the assessor should be the first step the moment the promoter decides to
go in for a competition. The president of COA if so requested by the promoter, may suggest a
panel of names experienced in this type of project proposed, for appointment as assessors.

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.

REGISTRATION PROCEDURE :

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 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.
COMPETITION 1: TRANSPARENCE – 08
DESIGNED ---- TO INSPIRE

Transparence is a nationwide, design competition that encourages students of architecture to explore

new horizons.

Transparence - brought to you by Saint-Gobain – a Company shaping the future of glass since 1665 aims to
become the forum for a confluence of great architectural minds – a movement that envisions the future of architecture and
space design in India.

Ar. Nilabh Nagar, who was one of the jury for Transparence 2005, in the Mentor for Transparence
2008.

Theme – Mediaplex
Brief:
An Iconic Media and Communications City Tower
The site can be real or imaginary and the context of the site would need to be clearly defined. The site will be accessible
by public transport and there will be shuttle bus services plying between specific locations in the city and the Mediaplex,
*Basic guidelines can be downloaded from www.transparence.inbe held in this city and will be symbolically 225 m
tall. This is to be an iconic tower to draw the world’s attention to India.
The program and the design of the tower and its surroundings would need to be such that it draws visitors to its
premises – on business or as animated tourists. The entire complex is envisaged as a vibrant area that is buzzing with
activity and helps in enhancing the potential of the city it is located in, as a sought-after tourist destination
spot. Rapid strides in modern technology in seeing the world changing faster than ever before. The citizens of the world
struggle to keep pace – Lives are changing. Lifestyles are changing. There are opportunities – of new age building
materials, of quicker renditions of complex design through rapid computing power, of faster dissemination & adaptability
of new ideas. There are also challenges – of sustainability, of building in harmony with the environment, of trading the
untrodden path.
Keeping in mind all this in the background, Transparence 08 calls upon you to design a Futuristic Media and
Communications City Tower – a tower that would be a representation of the direction our future is headed. This tower
is to commemorate the inauguration of the 2025 World Expo that is to Specifications. While transparency and the use of
glass would be a significant parameter in the adjudication process, what would be even more important is a sensitive
understanding of different kinds of glass with respect to the function, the surface is expected to perform.

Specification -
City of location – Any Indian metro
Site Area – No restrictions
Height – 225 m
FAR – No restrictions
Ground Coverage – No restrictions
Maximum Built-up Area – 300,000 sft.
Setbacks – No restrictions
ECBC* and National Safety Code* to be adhered to, with respect to the use of glass.

Facilities to be housed in the tower -

 Observation floor & decks to view the city for 1000 people.
 Holding space for 1500 people with ticket counter; this would include some recreational
spaces and an orientation chamber where films on the tower and the city would be
beamed to groups of tourists.
 Shop for memorabilia – 3000 sft.
 Exhibition Space – 50,000 sft. – The exhibition space would showcase the city with
respect to its history, future, urban planning efforts with models, audio-visual displays
and interactive games. This is envisaged as a space where the city talks to its people.
 Back-up Office for Exhibition 10000 sft.
 Hotel with a room capacity of 20.
 Coffee Shop / Restaurant for additional 150 people – 3000 sft.
 Night Club – dance floor for 150 people and lounging area for 150 people.
 City Resource Centre – This would be a tourist complex with information and booking
counters for sight seeing.
 Office Space and area for ancillary activities for communication functions to house the service providers – 25000 sft.
 Elevators for 50 people at a time.
 Landscaped Plaza.
 Parking – 6-8 tourist buses and 400 cars.
 Services .

Criteria for Assessment

Concept - The extent to which the design proposed contributes towards serving the purpose it is set out for – making a
futuristic statement while becoming a top iconic tourist attraction.
Originality / Creativity - While there are many projects globally that could serve as case studies and inspirations, original
creations and forms would be of prime importance.
Understanding of the Use of Glass - The appropriate use of glass and the use of appropriate glass will be judged in the
external surfaces of the built up areas, the interiors of the exhibition space, night club, observation floor and deck, coffee
shop / restaurant and in the landscaped plaza.
Practicality Presentation Relevance to Context

Requirements for Submission

 Concept with a clear enunciation of assumptions.

 Area Program
 Site Plan in a scale of 1:400
 Zoning Plan
 Detailed Plans, Sections, Elevations
 Interior Architecture Detailing of library, shopping areas, night club and restaurants.
 Internal and external 3 D views
 Any other drawings required to explain the design
 Please limit the number of sheets to a maximum of 15. All sheets to be in A3 size and to be accompanied by soft
copies. Please ensure that the presentation is in a power point
format compatible with MS Office 2003. Please write names and other team details only on the rear side of the sheets.

The Format
Transparence 08 is open to undergraduate students of architecture and interior design.
Teams to comprise of a maximum of three members.
The design competition will be open to all students of architecture and interior design across India. There is no
entry fee. Transparence 08 will be a two-stage competition, conducted as four regional events followed by a National
Finale. The best two entries in each region will be short listed by independent regional juries and eight entries will be
chosen to develop their design schemes further for the National finale. All participants are invited to the regional juries and
their travel expenses will be reimbursed. There will be no presentations by the teams at the regional juries but the teams
will get an opportunity to interact with the jury.
All participants with submissions that are found technically complete by the jury will be awarded certificates.

National Winner: Rs.75000/- per team, trophy and Certificate.

National First Runner-up: Rs.50000/- per team, trophy and Certificate.
National Second Runner-up: Rs.25000/- per team, trophy and Certificate.

Checklist:
• Form teams with a maximum of three members.
• Register online at www.transparence.in by 30th September 2008.
• Completed entries to reach the address mentioned below, through courier only on
or before the 15th of October 2008 :

Ms.Gita Balakrishnan
Ethos
23, Woodlands Syndicate, (Opposite Woodlands Hospital)
8/7, Alipore Road,
Kolkata - 700027
• Please ensure that your names and other details are written only at the rear side of the sheets.
COMPETITION 2: TRANSLATING TRADITIONS
It was a two stage student design competition held last year.

Stage One : Tradition

Duration: June 15th-July 30th

Students are encouraged to pick a structure which exemplifies local architectural traditions. It may be their
grandmother’s house where they have spent many a summer holidays, a building they pass by everyday to college or
their very own houses. It may even be an urban open space, market or some aspect of indigenous town planning. The aim
is to study and explore the structure in terms of its natural, social and traditional context. The uniqueness of the
construction style, materials used and technologies adopted must be explored. Original research work and associative
links will be given precedence.

Participants/Teams - maximum two undergraduate students of architecture can participate.

Registration - Teams can register by mailing the following information to
[email protected] -
1. Name of participants
2. College and address
3. Year of study
4. Contact numbers
Registration deadline - 22nd July, 2009.

Submission- photographs, plans, elevations, sections, views, sketches and text composed on a maximum of 5 A3
sheets and submitted online. Students who wish to hand draft can post the sheets with scans or photographs of the same
posted online.

Submission deadline- July 30th,2009.

August 5th - top 25% of all the entries qualify for the second round.
2.2 Stage two: Translation
Duration: August 5th -September 10th, 2009

Students are required to prepare proposals on how they intend to maintain the continuity of the structure
and the wisdom it carries when the values and customs that sustained it are fast eroding. These may be
schemes to adopt constructional wisdom to make new buildings cost-effective and green, to successfully
bring the building back to life and integrating it with everyday community life or something radically
different.

Submission - Plans, elevations, sections, views, sketches and text composed on a maximum of 4 A2
sheets and posted to Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi.

Winners announced – 15th September,2009.

Winners will be invited to Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi. All final stage entries will
be exhibited. A seminar session with lectures by the jury members and presentations by the
winning teams followed by an open discussion with the audience will be organized.

Prize
First Prize - USD 1000
Second Prize - USD 750
Third Prize - USD 500
Special Mention- USD 250