A critical case study of decision criteria in architectural competitions

Abstract

This paper analyzes a number of design proposals submitted within the framework of a large architectural competition in view of their eco-efficiency. As all new or refurbished buildings in Central Europe need to meet certain minimum energy performance requirements, many architectural competition announcements encourage participating planners to propose low-energy, passive or even plus-energy buildings, and also to take into account the ecological performance of building parts. Especially for public buildings, which are often seen as role models, competition announcements feature many environmental criteria addressing building envelope, HVAC-systems, and eco-impact of materials. It is difficult to compare project submissions (for example in terms of energy performance), as the quality and amount of information for each project varies widely. In most competitions, a professional jury chooses the “best” projects and it is debatable if ecological and energy performances are considered in the process. In this context, this paper presents results of a case study conducted in Austria. The entries of a competition for refurbishment and extension of a school building are analyzed using submitted project narratives as well as simple heating demand calculations. The outcome is subsequently compared with the Jury's final ranking of the submissions. The results can shed some light on the following questions: Do the competition entries provide sufficient information to evaluate their thermal and ecological behavior in general? Did the ecological and thermal performance influence the outcome of the competition and final Jury's ranking of the submitted proposals?