Since the end of the 18th century, architectural competitions have been mainstreamed into a public procurement procedure that has spread globally. Guided by architectural principles, underpinned by awarding standards and practiced with pragmatism, competitions are now under pressure. Whilst aspiring to being an ideal and undisputed procedure, in practice, it is frequently highly controversial. For instance, while it is often argued that competitions produce high quality architecture, generate knowledge and function as career triggers for young architects, they are also problematic from an economic perspective and prevent direct communication between the client and the executing architecture office. Above all, there is a conflict between principles of public procurement (i.e. transparency, non-discrimination and equal information) and the competition tradition, which allows for solutions to violate specifications given in the brief. While the rise of architectural competitions has been extensively discussed, the analytical framework offered by this book, in combination with a series of international case studies, examines the story of architectural competitions within the construction process and how they contribute to shaping the built environment. Framed by Actor-Network Theory and rooted in theories of design methodology, rather than studying the architectural competition as closed and single achievements such as for example an urban laboratory, the architectural competition is here perceived as a central link within the building process, which in turn is conceived of as a chain of translations. In doing so, it enables a better understanding of the impact of competitions on urban development and the ways that building performances and qualities are translated through planning, design and construction phases respectively into buildings, infrastructures and the built environment.
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