Architecture’s culture of cut-throat competition is bad for everyone

Recently l have been asked to participate in a number of public design competitions. Public sector clients have had an epiphany that maybe they should use diverse design teams to design for their diverse populations. After all, their diverse residents are paying for their developments through their hard-earned taxes.

The invitiation usually comes via a call from a project manager, reaching out on behalf of the public organisation they represent. Sometimes the request is from a facilitator, someone I kind of know. I feel special that they have finally found me and want to give me the ‘opportunity’ to bid on their public project.

“We want to give the opportunity to build thousands of homes to a diverse team”, they say. I tell them, “I have a lot of residential experience!” They respond by saying: “Do not worry, we are not asking for much for the competition bid.” Being excited about the ‘opportunity’, I ask them to send through the competition brief.

The competition brief requires a:

• Practice profile
• Case study
• Design response to the brief
• Statement on how you would collaborate with the master planner
• Fee proposal

It turns out that the master planning architect is the one who will actually be appointing us, not the client organisation. The deadline for submission is in a couple of weeks, as the clients are “now against the clock on this project.”

I realise that my workload will double in the next couple of weeks and that I must tell my family I will be working late. I discuss it with the staff at our weekly office meeting, and we are all agreed it could be a good ‘opportunity’. The office outing is cancelled, and I am grateful that they understand.

In the back of my mind, I am thinking, are they just BAME washing this project? I have never met the master planning architects, and surely, they will have a big say in who they will be appointing? As a subcontractor, will we become the scapegoat if things go wrong? Will it be a true design collaboration, or will I be the diverse face at the public consultation? How many other small minority architectural practices have they approached?

A few late nights and lots of pizza later, we put together the design bid and submit

I put my doubts aside and started working on the bid. After a short conversation, it is hard to second-guess what they are looking for. A few late nights and lots of pizza later, we put together the design bid and submit.

Post submission, we realise that the public organisation has approached every possible minority-led architectural practice they could find on Google to enter the design competition. Maybe they think this approach is making them more inclusive? The truth is that it is not.

Instead, they are creating a gladiatorial competition where small, diverse architectural practices are fighting against each other to the death with their unique, diverse design ideas in hand. In order to diversify, larger master planning architects are scrambling to look diverse after decades of not bothering to be inclusive.

I review the office timesheets and calculate the money that has been lost on this ‘opportunity’

I check out the master planning architect’s website. I always look at the senior team first. None of them look like me. I comprehend that these competitions are designed to create free publicity and avert criticism of a lack of diversity. I have also learned cynicism has entered my career.

We did not win the competition; someone who had worked with the master planners before had won. We were there to make up the numbers. I know I am supposed to feel privileged that I was asked to participate, but the old adage comes to mind. ‘It’s not what you know, but whom you know that matters.’ The ultimate killer of innovation.

I review the office timesheets and calculate the money that has been lost on this ‘opportunity’. Money that I will have to find elsewhere. I wonder how much productivity is lost through these types of competitions across the profession.

When did architects naively start giving away their work for free?

In open design competitions, hundreds of small practices may apply, and thousands of ideas are shared for free. I am sorry, but a small honoraria prize will never cover the cost.

You could say it is our choice if we enter or not, but the way it is packaged and presented makes it hard not to dream. The truth is that it is a bitter hard process for most architectural practices regardless of backgrounds. There are far more architects who submit bids than win them. It is particularly hard when a storm is approaching.

I also wonder, when did every job become a design competition? When did architects naively start giving away their work for free? Even a bathroom or park bench has become a design competition. Did this culture of competition over collaboration start at architecture school? Which group will step forward and change the culture?

Has the profession ever analysed the cost and impact that a culture of competition over collaboration has on architects and students of architecture?

There must be more efficient and ethical ways to find the best practice for a project. One thing I know is that the hyper-capitalism approach is not working for architects. Excessive fee cutting means that salaries are low, the larger practices are gobbling up all the juicy jobs, and productivity is low even with the use of BIM. Has the profession ever analysed the cost and impact that a culture of competition over collaboration has on architects and students of architecture?

I know we live in a world where competition is encouraged to drive growth and to pit one team against the other, and that culture may not change anytime soon. However, the playing field is not often level. I was recently shown artificial intelligence software that could design a building in minutes. In the future, this technology may level out the profession. In that situation the future of the profession will be less about competition and more about empathy and creativity.

I receive another call. “We are looking for a diverse team for a design competition for a new museum in north London, and it’s a great ‘opportunity’ for a practice like yours.”

Hmmm……