Architectural competition as a tool for the democratization of society

The vast majority of private construction works in the world are created without the participation of an architect. The public sector, through law and regulation, has opened the way for architects to provide services to both the public and private sectors. However, just respecting legal standards and regulations is not enough to produce high quality architecture. The key to achieving quality is to compare the best work that can be produced on a given subject, in this respect the Czech Republic, a small country in the centre of Europe, is an exception that democratises the process of procuring architectural services and allows transparent access to all architects on public contracts. It is a programme occupying a small percentage of contracts, but with an increasing tendency to appeal not only to domestic but also to foreign architects.  

 

Igor Kovačević is a lecturer at VŠUP and North Carolina State University. He has been involved in a number of international projects and is active as an architect, urban planner, curator and theorist. By focusing on urbanity as such, CCEA develops new forms of communication between architects and other disciplines, artists, theorists, political representation, urban planners, sociologists, and other professions. Kovačević sits on juries of national and international competitions and leads the CCEA's architectural competitions group.