There is always tension and politics that suround commissions to design signifigant buildings. Not only is there a large amount of money at stake, but the reputation of individual design firms is built on being awarded signifigant projects.
In most cases government agencies have elaborate processes that attempt to thwart corruption or favoritism. For some high-profile projects they will conduct a design competition. Sometimes it is open to everyone, and other times it involves a small number of qualified firms invited to compete. The benefits of a competition are to reduce the politics that surround the process and ensure that the greatest ideas get implemented — often the best ideas come from suprising sources. When I worked for a design firm in Denmark all I did was submit design competitions. In socialist countries all the signifigant design commissions are determined by a design competition. In Denmark, I remember one time when a student won the design competition for the country’s new contemporary art museum and was granted the commision. Here in the United States, design competitions get a bit more complicated. I heard a story that circulated within the Las Vegas design community and involves the Clark County Administration Building. Although I can’t verify the accuracy of the story, it is so delightful I am compelled to share it with you.
The design competition was an invitational and involved some of the best designers in world. Two of those individuals were Antoine Predock and Curtis Fentress. The competition was judged by a committee using a double-blind process. The committee would not know who submitted the various propsals, and the designers were unaware of who was on the committee. However, both accomplished and established architects had unique approaches and styles that would make their entries obvious to even the untrained eye. Early in the process Fentress discovered that the committee was keen on awarding the project to Predock. He could have withdrawn from the competition in protest or filed a formal complaint. However, he quietly directed his team to prepare their submission in the style of Antoine Predock. Curtis and his team did such a brilliant job that the committee couldn’t tell which project was Predock’s. The committee ended up selecting the design that Fentress submitted and was compelled to award him the commission. Fentress had managed to design a “Predock building” better than Antoine Predock. Now that is true greatness.