Section 3 Manual of Procedure for Selection of Architects

1.0 Introduction
The Regulation has been drawn up to ensure that architectural competitions are properly
conducted and that selection of designs shall be on merit alone and shall satisfy a promoter's
requirements. The main purpose of a competition is to select the best design from a number of
design alternatives. It is, therefore, important that competitions be held in an environment that
emanates confidence, impartiality and objectivity. The prime objectives of the Competition
Regulations and Procedures are to ensure the following:
 Impartiality and objectivity in competitions;
 Selection of designs based on merit; and
 Fulfillment of the promoter's requirements.
1.2 As per the lAB "Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct" it is unethical for lAB members
to give unpaid design services in competition with each other unless it is a competition
organized within the framework of these Regulations.
1.3 lAB accepts the terms and conditions of Competitions of UIA, CM and ARCASIA or
competitions sponsored or approved by the member institutes of UIA, CM or ARCASIA.
1.4 The word 'architect' as used in these Regulations shall mean any person, who at the time
of registration for a competition, and submission of the entry to a competition, is a member
of the Institute of Architects Bangladesh. Any applicant for registration to an architectural
competition shall state the lAB membership number. Where the application for registrations
by a firm, the lAB membership number(s) of the principal(s) shall be cited. For the purpose
of these Regulations a 'firm' shall be defined as a business entity duly constituted under
the law for the purpose of architectural practice or an association formed for participating in
a competition which has at least one architect as principal, director, partner or associate. In
the latter case there shall be an agreement legally binding upon the parties to provide the
complete range of services as provided for in the lAB recommended conditions of
engagements should the association be successful in winning the first prize.
1.5 Except as provided for in Clause 1.3, all members of lAB shall abide by the lAB
Regulations for the Promotion & Conduct of Architectural Competition and Code of Ethics
& Professional Conduct and shall follow lAB instructions to act either as assessor or
competitor in any architectural competition.
2.0 Procedure
2.1 As soon as a client/promoter has decided that he/she wishes to promote a competition, or
even if he/she is only considering whether to do so or not, he/she should consult Institute
of Architects Bangladesh (lAB), who will explain the system more fully, and give advice on
any point of difficulty. The first step is the appointment of a jury of assessors. The
President of lAB shall in mutual consultation with the Promoter, nominate and advise the
Promoter on the appointment of jury of assessors the majority of whom shall be architects
of acknowledged standing.
2.2 The names of the Assessors shall appear in the competition documents and in any
advertisement relating there-to.
2.3 On the advice of the President, lAB, the Promoter of a competition shall appoint assessors
to prepare the programme for the competition, instructions for competitors and evaluate
the entries.
2.4 Alternately, lAB may take the responsibility of preparing the program for the competition,
instructions for competitors, the terms and conditions of competition, time schedule and
leave the assessment of the entries and decision on award of prizes to the of Assessors.
2.5 Entries shall be submitted anonymously and the Assessors shall award the prizes and
report to the Promoter. The decision of the Assessors shall be final and binding on all
parties concerned. The Promoter shall accept the decision of the Assessors and in case of
architectural competition, shall commission the first prize winning architect(s) for the
work.
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2.6 The lAB members involved in preparing the competition programme/documents, the
Assessors and the Promoters or their partners, associates or employees shall not
compete or assist a competitor in the competition.
3.0 Types of Competitions
3.1 Architectural Competitions:
Normally, architectural competitions are for projects where the designs will actually be
built. In an architectural competition the submission judged as the best design must be
selected for construction. Any of the following four types of architectural competitions may
be adopted for a project:
3.1.1 Single Stage Competitions:
The single stage competitions shall require the submission of complete scaled drawings
including plans, sections, elevations and may be model as necessary to explain the
design. Single stage competitions are more suitable for simple buildings. In this type of
competition no less than three cash prizes shall be offered and the first prize winner
shall be commissioned to carry out the project.
3.1.2 Two Stage Competitions:
The first stage of a two stage competition shall comprise broad based planning in simple
line drawings sufficient to convey the concept and intentions of the competitor. From the
first stage entries a small number (say 6 to 10) shall be selected to participate in the
second stage. No prizes shall be awarded in the first stage, but each of the competitor
selected to proceed to the second stage shall receive an honorarium, 'not a large one, but
sufficient to enable them to sufficient time on the design development. The amount of the
honorarium shall be announced with the invitation of the competition which will be decided
by the Client in consultation with lAB.
In many ways two stage system is advantageous for both the architects and promoters.
Because in one hand the unsuccessful participants are saved of their wasted time & efforts
and in the other hand it encourages wider participation. A two stage system of competition
requires longer time than one stage competitions, due to its other merits over single stage
competitions. It is strongly advised in most circumstances. The work required in the second
stage shall be the same as required for a single-stage competition as mentioned under
Clause 2.1.1
3.1.3 Limited Competitions:
Limited competitions may be held in one stage or in two stage, limited to selected
architects who are invited to compete. Limited competition is suitable only in special
circumstances. The principal disadvantage of this system is that the promoter is deprived
of the opportunity to draw on the talents of the larger section of the profession. It is an
essential condition of a limited competition that an honorarium be paid to each of the
invited competitors, even at the first stage and that an additional honorarium be paid
to every competitor selected for the second stage.
Short-listing is advisable only in large and complex projects, but not necessary in a small
and simple project.
3.1.4 International Competitions:
In 1965 the regulations for the International Competitions in architectural & town planning
were adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO (United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization) and since then have been administered by the
International Union of Architects (UIA). lAB accepts UIA jurisdiction over international
competitions, and members of lAB may therefore only enter for competitions, which have
received its approval.
3.2. Competition for Ideas:
3.2.1 Competition for Ideas are set as planning exercises to elucidate a problem or to draw
attention to the architectural and planning aspects of some matter of national importance
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or to develop ideas. The winner of such competition is not subsequently commissioned for
the obvious reason that no actual building is constructed following the competition.
3.2.2 The Ideas Competitions are normally open to all architects and as well as students to
stimulate creativity and encourage young architects or students of architecture.
3.2.3 The competition for ideas is normally a single stage open competition.
3.2.4 Promotion of a design competition purely for advertising purposes or restricted to the use
of some proprietary products is not acceptable to lAB.
3.3 Architect/Developer Competitions:
There is a growing trend in some countries to conduct project competitions in a single
stage or two stages with a difference that a financial bid and a commitment by the
developer are also included with the submission. Among other information, the promoter
should include the value of the site (in the competition conditions), what minimum bid
would be acceptable etc. Initially, the financial consideration is kept unopened until the
designs are selected on their merits by the assessors and financial bid is not the
basis of choice.
4.0 Eligibility
4.1 The eligibility of entrants is determined by one of the three following general methods:
4.1.1 Open- All architects with relevant qualification may participate in the competition.
4.1.2 limited- The advertisement delineates a group with specific characteristics, all within the
group may participate.
4.1.3 Invited- Competitors are invited to take part. The short listed may be chosen by
Assessors/Advisers in consultation with the Promoter with or without an advertisement. .
4.2 All foreign architects who intends to participate in a competitions shall work in association
with member architects of lAB.
4.3 Members of the faculty or students of the school from which a faculty member is the sole
assessor of a competition, shall not be eligible to participate in such a competition.
This shall not apply where there are more than one assessor of whom some or only one is
a member of the faculty.
5.0 Competition Manager
This is an appointment by the promoter either in house or from outside. His role is to:
5.1 Confirm the Promoter's instructions and requirements
5.2 Provide brief and competition conditions
5.3 Investigate with Authorities and determine planning or other considerations
5.4 Ensure that competitions time table is adhered, supervised receipt of competitors
questions and dispatch Promoter's replies to all the competitors, receipt of competitions
entries and safeguard the anonymity of competitors at all times.
5.5 Provide administration of all the arrangements called for in the competition conditions
including exhibition of designs and publication of results.
6.0 Assessors
The success of the competition will depend on the experience and ability of the Panel of
Assessors. The composition of the Assessors will be agreed between the Promoter and lAB. The
preferred number of Assessors is five of whom the majority shall have to be architects of
acknowledged standing. The remaining Assessors may be non architects. However for a minor
project a single architect may be the Assessor.
6.1 Once it has been decided on the competition type, lAB, after consultation with the
Promoter shall nominate Architect Assessors of acknowledged standing. A Senior
Architect Assessor from the panel will be available for all further advice for the duration of
the competition. His role is to:
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6.1.1 Agree with Promoter the terms of the final competition documents.
6.1.2 Advise on appointment of other technical advisers if necessary to assist in preparation of
the Brief and advise the assessors on competition entries later on.
6.1.3 Prepare Assessor's report to be submitted to Promoter and lAB.
6.2 Where an architect already holds an appointment as a consultant to the promoters, and the
Promoter wishes that the incumbent should act as a consultant to the architect appointed
as a result of architectural competition, this shall be clearly stated in the conditions for the
Competition. In such a case the incumbent shall not act as sole assessor, but may be one
of the Assessors of which majority are architects.
6.3 With this exception as provided under Clause 7.2 no member of the jury of assessors to a
competition may thereafter act in any capacity as architect, joint architect or consultant for
the work. The same shall apply to any member of the promoting body or any partner,
associate or employee of the promoting body or of the Assessors.
6.4 In the event of being invited to act as assessors, after conditions of a competition have
been drawn up, assessors must confirm before consenting, that the conditions are in
accordance with this Regulation, and have been approved by lAB.
7.0 Duties of the Assessors
The Assessors shall comprise of a chairperson and members and their duties shall be:
7.1.1 They are jointly responsible for the conduct of the competition and it is their duty to
safeguard the interest of the Promoter together with those for the Competitors
throughout the process of the Competition.
7.1.2 Advise the promoter on the type of competition that should be held, the time that shall be
allowed for submission of design and the number of awards, the prize money and
other accompaniment that shall be offered.
7.1.3 They shall consider carefully which design or other requirements of the Brief shall be
mandatory and which shall be recommendations only. They are to agree on the
competition programme with the Promoter and obtain the approval for Competition
Conditions and Project Brief from the Promoter and lAB.
7.1.4 They shall consider disqualification of entries which contravene the Conditions of the
Competition and noncompliance of the Mandatory requirements of the Brief.
7.1.5 If necessary they shall advise the Promoter of the need for the assistance of Technical
examiners for vetting the checking of the submission for omissions, inconsistencies
etc
7.1.6 They are to make an award strictly in accordance with the Competition Conditions in a
signed statement setting out the number of designs examined, order of the award or as
the case may be the nominees for the promoter' choice. This should be accompanied by a
report to the promoter on the quality of the designs submitted and where necessary any
modifications which ought to be made to the successful schemes with 'copies to lAB.
7.1.7 The winner of the best design shall be required to satisfy the Assessors that he/she has
the resources and ability to carry out the work efficiently. Should the assessors be not
satisfied in this respect, they shall, at their discretion and in consultation with the winner of
the best design, advise the Promoter that an established consultant architect acceptable to
the Promoter should be appointed to collaborate with him/her in carrying out the work. In
such an event the Promoter shall not be obligated to pay any additional fees.
7.1.8 Before the signing of contract of appointment of architect, settle any dispute that may arise
between the promoter and the best design award winner in an architectural
competition as to the terms of appointment as architect to the project.
7.2 The Assessors' duties shall be deemed complete on appointment of the best award
winning designer as architect in accordance with the Competition Conditions or when the
prizes are paid as the case may be.
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8.0 Technical Advisors

Where appropriate there may be a Panel of Technical Advisers, the choices of which should be
the subject of consultation between the Promoter and the Senior Architect Assessor. In all
Project and Architect/Developer Competitions, verification of cost of the is essential. It is
recommended that the technical advisers be invited to comment on the Brief before it receives
formal approval and on the schemes when submitted to ensure they meet its requirements.
9.0 Assessors' Fees
The scale of charges for preparing for the competition and assessing competitions shall be as
follows:
9.1 An honorable and appropriate fee is payable to each of the assessors.
9.2 The minimum fees for preparing a program, terms and conditions, instructions for
competitors, and schedules etc. for a competition is recommended to be Tk. 25,000 or one
fourth of one per cent of the estimated cost of the scheme up to Tk. 10,000,000, whichever
is higher. For architectural schemes costing more than Tk. 100,000,000 the fees shall
be mutually agreed upon by Assessors, Promoter and the lAB.
9.3 The fees may be payable either directly to the assessors or to the lAB, in case lAB being
solely responsible for preparing the Brief and conducting the competition.
9.4 In case of fees being payable to the Assessors, the fees shall be irrespective of whether
one or more Assessors are appointed. In the event of more than one Assessor being
appointed, the fees shall be divided among the assessors in mutual agreement with the
Promoter. The above fees are exclusive of traveling allowances and out-of-pocket
expenses which lAB or each of the Assessors, shall additionally charge.
10.0 Award of Prizes
10.1 In a single stage competitions for a building project or in case of a competition of ideas, no
less than three cash prizes shall be offered. In a competition for a building
project, the first of these prizes shall be considered an advance payment on account of
fees payable to the winner when commissioned to carry out the project.
10.2 The Assessors shall have the discretion to aggregate the second, third and other cash
prizes and divide the total amongst a larger number of competitors if the circum
stance so warrants. Where such discretion is exercised, Assessors must still indicate an
order of merit in a competition for a building project.
10.3 In a competition for a building project the cash amount of the prizes especially the first
prize, shall relate to the estimated cost of the project. The total of the second, third,
and other prizes shall not be less than the total value of the first prize.
10.4 In the case of a two-stage competition for a building project, no prizes are to be awarded at
the first stage, but instead, each competitor selected to proceed to the second stage must
receive a fee. Thereafter, cash prizes shall be awarded, as defined in 10.1-10.3 above.
10.5 In a limited competition, each competitor must receive a fee. Thereafter one or more prizes
should be awarded as in 10.1-10.3 above.
11.0 Invitations
11.1 The Promoters invitation to architects to compete shall clearly state the nature of the
project, the limits of cost where applicable, the names of the Assessors, the last date
for the applying for competition conditions, the definition of those eligible for entry,
registration cost, the last date for the submission of questions, the last time and date for
the submission of questions, the last time and date for submission of the designs and the
prizes offered.
11.2 Advertisement inviting participation in the competition shall be published in daily/weekly
newspapers and/or general/technical journals and a copy of the same shall be
sent for publication in the lAB Journal.
11.3 In project competition the Promoter should declare his intention to build and commitment to
appoint the first prize winning architect.
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12.0 Competition Documents

A private Promoter shall sign on a copy of the conditions printed on a judicial stamp of
appropriate value. The Promoter shall issue to each competitor a printed copy of the conditions
of the competition prepared by either the Assessors or lAB and a site plan 'showing ground
levels, positions of services and all relevant information. Conditions issued by a corporate body
shall bear the common seal of that body.
13.0 Competitor’s Questions
Competitors shall be permitted sufficient time to seek clarification on the conditions and
instructions. Such queries shall be sent within a stipulated date, after which an explanatory
addendum shall be issued to clarify, rectify or answer the questions received. Such addendum
shall be circulated to all competitors and shall form a part of the instructions for the competitions.
The addendum shall only clarify or rectify but shall not alter or modify the published
conditions. Depending on the nature and size of the competition a minimum of 4 weeks from the
date of publication of the competition conditions shall be allowed for the submission of queries.
The preparation of the addendum shall take no longer than the period stipulated for submission
of queries. If unforeseen delay occurs, a compensatory extension of the final date for the
submission of designs shall automatically be made and shall be notified at the beginning of the
addendum.
14.0 Drawing & Report Required
14.1 The number, scale and method of furnishing the required drawings shall be clearly set
forth. The drawings shall not be more in number or larger in scale than necessary to
explain the design clearly: The drawings sheets shall be uniform in size, material, number
and mode of presentation. As a general rule, a scale of 1:100 should be adequate for
plans, sections and elevations, or in the case of very large buildings, a smaller scale may
be appropriate.
14.2 The drawings shall be accompanied by a concise typewritten description of the design:
concept, buildings, construction techniques, finish, and materials proposed and such
information as cannot be clearly shown on drawings. No drawings, diagrams or
photographs shall be included in this description.
14.3 The submission of entry shall be accompanied by a cost estimate based on a recognized
method of calculation as may be specified in the competition documents. The costs
shall be those ruling at the time of issue of the conditions.
15.0 Method of Submission
15.1 No design shall bear any motto, logo or distinguishing mark of any kind.
15.2 Each design shall be accompanied by a declaration in an envelope issued along with the
instruction to the competitors. The declaration shall state that the design is the competitor's
or joint competitors' own work and that the drawings have been prepared his/her or their
own offices, and under his/her or their own supervision, and that he/she or they shall
accept the Assessors award as final. In the case of an association of architects formed for
the purpose of entering an architectural competition, there shall be a memorandum of
understanding for the purpose of carrying out the project in the event of the association
winning the first award. This shall be stated in the declaration and a copy of the
memorandum of understanding shall also have to be submitted.
15.3 On receipt of the entry to the competition the design and declaration envelope shall be
given a serial number by the promoter but the envelope shall nor be opened until after the
assessors' evaluation of the entries and award have been finalized.
16.0 Disqualification
16.1 An entry shall be disqualified from a competition for any of the following reasons:
16.1.1 If received after the last time and date stipulated in the conditions.
16.1.2 If in the opinion of the assessors, it does not satisfy the programme.
16.1.3 If the entry exceeds the limits of site as provided by the promoter.
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16.1.4 If the probable cost, in the opinion of the Assessors, exceeds by 10 per cent from that
provided by the promoter in the instructions.
16.1.5 If a competitor or an entry disregards or violates any of the mandatory conditions or
instructions.
16.1.6 If a competitor discloses his/her identity or attempts to influence the decision of the
Assessors.
17.0 Awards
17.1 It shall be the duty of the assessors to make an award and the promoter and competitors
must undertake to accept that award. The promoter shall undertake to pay the cash
prizes in accordance therewith and incase of architectural competition, to appoint the
author of the first prize winning design as architect· for the work unless, in the opinion of
the assessors, there are some valid objections under these regulations to such an
appointment. In such a case the author of the design placed second in order of merit
shall be appointed. The author of the selected design shall, if required, make any
reasonable modification to his/her design-to meet the requirements of the promoter.
17.2 It may also be desirable to commend some designs of merit which did not receive cash
prizes. In selecting such designs the Assessors shall be guided by the same
considerations as in awarding prizes. If in exceptional cases the assessors anticipate
difficulty in making an award they shall refer the matter to the President of the lAB for
advice.
17.3 The promoter shall notify the competitors of the result of the competition before making
any public announcements.
18.0 Publication Of the Result
18.1 The award is to be published as soon as it is finalized, in a press release issued by the
promoters in consultation with the assessors and the lAB. The press release should be
accompanied by photographs of models, perspectives of the prize winning designs.
18.2 All the accepted entries to the competition and the accompanying reports together with a
copy of the Assessors' award shall be publicly exhibited for not less than 6 days.
Notice of the time and place of exhibition shall be given to all competitors and to the
public. Nevertheless, where large numbers of entries have been received, selected
numbers may be exhibited in turns for periods of 6 days, provided that the winning and
commended designs are exhibited throughout the whole period, and that all acceptable
entries are in due course exhibited.
19.0 Return of Drawings
All drawings submitted except the design selected for execution shall be returned to the
competitors within 14 days of the close of the exhibition.
20. Appointment of Architect
Subject to the provisions of Clause 16.1, the promoter shall formally appoint the author of the
design selected as architect for execution of the work in accordance to the standard
Memorandum of Agreement along with Schedule of Services and Fees of lAB. Any dispute on
the terms of the appointment prior to signing of the contract shall be settled by the assessors
acting, if necessary, as arbitrator between the promoter and the winner. Subsequent dispute
between promoter and architect shall be settled in accordance with the provision for arbitration
as described in the Terms and Condition of Engagement.
21.0 Architect's Fee
21.1 To avoid complications in fee negotiations with the selected architect, it is advisable to
follow any of the following methods:
i. Announce a uniform fee for all competitors in advance or
ii. Announce in advance that the architect be paid in accordance with the applicable scale
of professional fee recommended by lAB.
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The competition prize received by the winner shall be deemed as an advance on the
total fee payable to the architect and shall be adjusted accordingly at the time of .
subsequent payments.
21.2 In the event of the promoter deciding to proceed with only part of the work, the appointed
architect shall be paid fees in accordance with scale of fees in accordance with Clause
20.1. The prize already paid shall be adjusted with these fees and any excess over those
fees payable under Clause 20.1 shall be ultimately adjusted with the fee payable for the
entire project when completed.
22. Termination of the Competition
If, however, no instructions are given to the competitor selected for appointment as architect
within one years of the date of the award he/she shall be paid an additional fee of the twice
amount of the original prize money.
23.0 Appointment of Consultants
23.1 The promoter shall appoint other consultants as necessary to collaborate with the
architect in carrying out the work. Their appointment shall be subject to the discretion of
the architect, shall be in agreement with the promoter and such consultants shall be
nominated or approved by the architect.
23.2 On being advised by the architect that a clerk of work or construction supervisor is
necessary for satisfactory completion of the project, the promoter shall appoint and pay a
clerk of works or construction supervisor. The clerk of works or construction supervisor
shall be nominated by the architect and shall be under the control of the architect.
24.0 Power of Waiver
lAB shall have the power to waive or to vary any of these Regulations in circumstances where
such waiver or variance is in the best interest of the client or the architectural profession.