2/18/25, 12:38 PM Council Of Architecture

Guidelines
Last Updated On: 08/01/2015

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of these Guidelines is to indicate the principles upon which competitions will be conducted
and the rules which must be observed by a promoter for conducting competitions.

These guidelines have been drawn up in the interest of both the promoter and the competitor and to
ensure that the architectural competitions are properly conducted and that selection of the design will
be on merit alone and will satisfy the promoter's requirements.

The Code of Professional Conduct of the Council of Architecture does not allow Architects to give unpaid
services in competition with each other and competitive designs shall only be submitted through
competition organised within the framework of these guidelines.

GUIDELINES :

ARTICLE 1 : ELIGIBILITY TO COMPETE:

Participation in any and all competitions shall be open to:

1. Architects i.e those who are registered with the Council of Architecture under the Architects Act,
1972 on the date of announcement of the competition and thereafter.

2. Firms in which all the partners shall be registered with the Council of Architecture under the
Architects Act, 1972 on the date of announcement of the competition and thereafter.1

3. Students of a Teaching Institution, the qualifying examination of which is recognised by the

Council of Architecture provided that no member of the staff of the said institution is the sole
Assessor or in a jury of three or more Assessors, only one Assessor is from the staff of the said
institution.

4. Neither the Promoter of the competition, Assessor/s engaged for the competition nor any of their
associate, partner or employee shall compete, assist a competitor or act as an architect or joint
architect for the competition project.

Competitor may be requested to submit a proof of qualification, copy of his valid Registration certificate
issued by the Council of Architecture, and in case of a student, a certificate from the head of his
institution which is qualified as per 3 above.

ARTICLE 2 :Competition

1. The word 'Competition' shall apply to any competition described in Schedule 1 and participation
shall be open only to those qualified as per Article 1.

2. The draft competition conditions including time table, registration fees, prize monies/honoraria,
board of assessors, the programme etc. of competitions shall have been finalised within the
framework of the guidelines prescribed by the Council of Architecture before any announcement is
made by the promoter of the competition.

3. The conditions of the competitions shall clearly give:

Conditions based upon guidelines prescribed by the Council of Architecture.
Type of Competition.
Purpose of the competition and intentions of the promoter.
Nature of the problem to be solved.
All practical and mandatory requirements to be met by the competitors.
Number, nature, scale and dimensions of the documents, plan and/or models.
Estimates if required in standard form issued with the conditions.

https://www.coa.gov.in/contprintcont.php?lid=240&lang=1&level=2&sublinkid=261 1/2
2/18/25, 12:38 PM Council Of Architecture

Nature of prizes.
Names of Assessors.
Necessary information required for conducting the competition.

4. The competition shall be conducted in English.

5. All competition designs shall be submitted anonymously.

ARTICLE 3 :BOARD OF ASSESSORS:

The Board of Assessors shall at all times include Architects who are registered with the Council of
Architecture and shall be in a majority of atleast one.

ARTICLE 4 : Prizes, Honoraria & Mentions :

No competition shall be conducted without adequate premium/honoraria and the competition conditions
and the media announcements must state the amounts and number of prizes for the open competition
and the amount of premium or honorarium to each competitor in a limited competition and in the
second stage of a two stage competition.

ARTICLE 5 : Copyright & Right of ownership :

Each competitor shall retain Copyright in his own competition design.

Each competitor shall retain the right of reproduction of his own competition design.

ARTICLE 6 :
All competition designs including those disqualified by the Board of Assessors shall be exhibited for
atleast one week, together with a copy of the signed report of the Board of Assessors. The exhibition
shall be open to public free of charge.

https://www.coa.gov.in/contprintcont.php?lid=240&lang=1&level=2&sublinkid=261 2/2
2/18/25, 12:42 PM Council Of Architecture

Purpose
Last Updated On: 08/01/2015

Architectural Competitions give the promoters a choice from the best viable project of high standard
with a variety of approaches.
Competition brings out a wide range of ideas and concepts and gives the promoter the choice of
selecting that which fits into his specific requirements.

One of the principal aims of the competition is to explore hidden talents among younger Architects. To
many competitors, it often is the first step to a successful career.

Competition Guidelines as laid down by the Council of Architecture protect and safeguard the interests
both of the promoter and the competitor.

While ensuring the promoter a design of high standard and adjudged as such by prominent Architects
acting as Assessors, it also ensures that each competitor competes on like conditions and within the
same limitations.

Both the promoter and the competitor are assured by these guidelines that the entries will be judged
only by those who are qualified to interpret the competitors' presentations and to judge if the design
selected meets with the promoter's requirements.

The guidelines therefore lay considerable emphasis on the mandatory requirement of Assessors and the
qualifications.

The appointment of the Assessors should therefore be the immediate and first step the moment the
promoter decides to go in for a competition. The President of the Council of Architecture, if so requested
by the promoter, may suggest a panel of names experienced in this type of project proposed, for
appointment as Assessors. Their responsibilities commence with the approval of the brief of the
competition project. The Assessor may even help to prepare the brief.

For practical reasons, this responsibility is often taken by the Senior Assessor who would then be
available to advise the promoter on all matters connected with the competition from the promoter's
decision to hold the competition till the final award.

Briefly the Assessors (or the Senior Assessor) will:

1. Assist in the preparation and approval of the brief.

2. Study and understand the requirements of the Local

Authorities

3. Visit and examine the project site, if necessary.

4. Advise on the appointment of the Technical Advisers, if necessary.

5. Finalise the competition conditions.

6. Prepare the final report/award.

The project brief is the most important document. The success of the competition will depend upon the
clarity and the completeness of the brief. This can be achieved by a very close cooperation between the
Promoters and the Assessors (or the Senior Assessor) in the preparation and finalisation of the brief.

Further the participation of the Assessors in the preparation of the brief will enable them to understand
fully the intent of the promoter. Also as qualified Architects they would be capable of visualizing the
development with reference to the promoter's requirements, site conditions etc. and in interpreting the
competition entries in these terms.

https://www.coa.gov.in/contprintcont.php?lid=242&lang=1&level=2&sublinkid=263 1/2
2/18/25, 12:42 PM Council Of Architecture
For complicated projects such as Hospitals, Airports etc. which are under constant development or
projects encompassing highly technical elements, a Technical Adviser would be considered necessary in
the initial stage to help the Promoter and the Assessors to draw up the brief and subsequently to advise
the Assessors on the technical aspect of the competition entries.

Once the promoter's requirements, the site conditions, the requirements of the local authorities etc.
have been formulated into the competition brief, the Assessors (or the Senior Assessor) can advise the
promoter on the type of competition that should be promoted.

Schedule 1 of the Competition Guidelines describes in detail the types of competitions, which could be
adopted and successfully conducted.

The conditions for Architectural competition given in Schedule 3 specifies the procedure to be followed
by the promoter for conducting competitions and these conditions have been drawn up to ensure that
each competitor competes on similar conditions, that the selection is based entirely on merit, that in
appreciation of the effort that would be put in by each competitor suitable and adequate prize monies
and honoraria are assured, that anonymity of the competitor is maintained during the competition and
that each competitor enjoys Copyright and Right of Ownership.

Response from well established Architects as well as large number of young Architects to an open
competition can best be assured by wide publicity. This is all the more essential for projects which are
of public interest.

Publicity could begin with the invitation of Architects to participate through widely read media. This
could be followed by press conferences and finally by the publication of the Assessor's report and public
exhibition of all the entries.

https://www.coa.gov.in/contprintcont.php?lid=242&lang=1&level=2&sublinkid=263 2/2
2/18/25, 12:42 PM Council of Architecture

Help Contact Us Sitemap

Skip to Main Content Screen Reader A- A A+ Login | FAQs | View Cart

Renewal Related Queries, Pls whatsapp Contact Timings

: Mon - Fri 10 AM to 6PM

Schedule 1
Home / Schedule 1

 About Us

 E-Services

 Forms Download

 Helpdesk

Last Updated On: 18-02-2025

Back

Type of Competitions
1. PROJECT AND IDEAS COMPETITIONS
Competitions may be either "Projects" or "Ideas" competitions or in certain circumstances a combination of both. The aim of a roject competition is to find
the best solution for an actual building roject and to appoint its author to carry out the commission. ompetitions of Ideas are set as an exercise to elucidate
certain aspects of architectural and town planning problems. The winner of such a competition may not be commissioned to carry out the project, and
hence students of architecture may participate at the iscretion of the promoter.
2. CLASSIFICATION OF COMPETITIONS

(I) OPEN COMPETITIONS

Competitions in which all Architects are invited to participate through an announcement by advertisements in suitable media and through circulars which
may be issued by the promoters.
Open competitions for projects estimated at less than Rs. 10,00,000/-may be restricted to Architects who have their main or branch office in the State of the
project site.
(II) LIMITED COMPETITIONS FOR COMPETITIONS BY INVITATION

Competitions in which limited amount of Architects (approx. 5 to 8) selected by the promoter on the advice of the Senior Architect Assessor or Board of
Assessors, are invited to participate. Each participant who submits his designs shall receive an honorarium.

(III) SPECIAL COMPETITIONS
Besides competitions described in (i) and (ii) above a competition may also combine town planning as well as design problem, and may involve the use of

industrial components or participation of developers. In such competitions participation may be required to be limited to professionals or group of
professionals with certain definite expertise.

In such cases the competition announcement shall clearly define the field of expertise.
3. COMPETITION ORGANISATION

Competitions may be organised in one or two stages.
(I) SINGLE STAGE COMPETITION
In single stage competition the competition entries shall be fairly complete drawings i.e. plans, section, elevations, etc. to a suitable scale
and sufficient to explain the scheme as set out in the competition conditions.
The designs so submitted shall be assessed by the Assessors for the award of the prizes and the appointment of the architect.
Such competitions are recommended for small and simple project.
(II) TWO STAGE COMPETITIONS
In two stage competition, the first stage is for soliciting ideas and therefore the competition entries at this stage would be limited to planning on broad basis
and drawings to a suitable scale sufficient to indicate the intentions of the competitor.
Designs submitted in the first stage shall be assessed by the Assessors for selecting a small number of competitors (between 5 and 10). The author of these
selected designs will be invited to take part in the second stage of the competition, and each architect so invited would be paid a specified sum.
In order to maintain anonymity, each competitor will be informed individually whether he has been or has not been invited to participate in the second stage.
Correspondence in this respect will be the responsibility of the Promoter or Professional Adviser, if appointed. It will also be his responsibility to ensure that
the names of those invited and those rejected are not revealed either to the assessor or to any person.
To ensure this anonymity the envelopes containing the names of the competitors shall be opened by the Promoter or Professional Adviser if appointed. After
✕
the intimation has been sent to each competitor they shall be resealed until the final award.
Welcome to COA
After the end of the first stage, the Board of Assessors, may, if found necessary and with the approval of the Promoter, clarify or amplify points in the
Virtual Assistant.
competition conditions for the benefit of the second stage competitors. Such clarification or amplification shall not in any way disclose directly or indirectly
How may I help you?
or even inadvertently any of the designs submitted in the first stage to those invited for the second stage.

https://www.coa.gov.in/index1.php?lang=1&level=2&sublinkid=265&lid=244&key=schedule 1 1/2
2/18/25, 12:42 PM Council of Architecture

The period between the Assessors award for the first stage and submission of designs for the second stage shall not exceed six months. Only under
exceptional circumstances period may be extended.
The second stage of the competition may be limited to only a part of the subject dealt with in the first stage.
Members of the Board of Assessors shall be the same for first stage and second stage of the competition.
The designs submitted for both the first stage and the second stage shall be exhibited and/or published only after the final award of the second stage
competition.
If any design selected for the second stage is published or exhibited before the final award of the second stage has been declared, it will be disqualified.
Two stage competitions are recommended for town planning and for large scale or complex project.
III. REGIONAL SPECIAL CATEGORY COMPETITIONS
This type of competition is intended for small projects of charitable organisations in which four to six local firms will compete for the appointment as the
Architect.
No premiums are given and the winner shall be appointed to carry out the project.

Top

Website Policies FAQs Terms & Conditions Feedback Sitemap ARCHIVES Contact Us

Copyright © 2025 Council of Architecture. All Rights Reserved.

Visitors: 17985097 Last Updated on: 18/02/2025




Welcome to COA
Virtual Assistant.
How may I help you?

https://www.coa.gov.in/index1.php?lang=1&level=2&sublinkid=265&lid=244&key=schedule 1 2/2