Abstract
This article is the outcome of a comprehensive study of architectural competitions in the Nordic countries (1999-2000). The vital content of the research is derived from a series of meticulously conducted interviews with key actors including 18 highly qualified and experienced experts from the jury members representing clients, architectural associations and competitors. The study refers to quality as a key-concept and a main source of conceiving, judging and selecting a prize winner. It is possible to articulate how architectural quality issues are met by jury members; how they are being communicated; and how a winner is nominated. The study provides insight into how the concept of quality in architectural design is understood in practice. Quality is identified through design criteria in a dialogue-based assessment of architecture and urban design projects. The assumption is that the judgment and evaluation of entries in competitions are strongly connected to the leading values, norms, regulations, organizations and traditions in Scandinavia. When quality is contextually bound, the assessment becomes a question of how the solutions fit the specific plot. These issues in a competition process cause uncertainties and discrepancies in judging and selection. However, while the main role of jury members is to agree upon the most appropriate solutions, they finally succeed in designating the best entry through their cumulated tacit knowledge and well-trained eyes. Competence and consensus are therefore two essential factors that make jury members feel confident in their final choice of a winner.
Highlights
Scandinavia enjoys a tradition, which is more than a hundred years old, of arranging architectural competitions for the selection of the best design practices
The present article is the conclusive part of a research project at the School of Architecture aimed at developing a theoretical discourse on quality issues in general, and on design competitions as a system for evaluating architectural quality, in particular
Discussion, findings and conclusion In this article, I have tried to show what architectural quality means in a Nordic context – the way design criteria are used in a dialogue-based assessment following a special procedure typical of architectural competitions in the period, 1999-2000
Summary
Scandinavia enjoys a tradition, which is more than a hundred years old, of arranging architectural competitions for the selection of the best design practices. The article deals with architectural quality with reference to the concept as it is conceived, defined, and used by experienced architects in their practice It is based on the analyses of the language and terminology experts use when they try to express themselves about quality in architecture and urban design. A basic part of the study has involved investigating the way practitioners talk about quality, how jury members point out good solutions to design problems, and how architects demonstrate quality during the selection process of a competition. The concept is dynamic and complex and the dualism becomes clear when architects attempt to give their personal answers when asked what distinguishes good architectural quality This approach to understanding quality in architecture and urban design can be found in the national policy programme which developed in Europe during the 1990s starting in the Netherlands (1991), Norway (1992), and Denmark (1994). These criteria reflect an understanding of how the jury members should proceed to determine the decisive differences between the competition entries: 1. Wholeness and fundamental idea: How has the competitor solved the competition goal on the whole? Is there a powerful design idea? To what extent has a strong fundamental idea and an appealing design been combined with functional demands, durability and economy
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