Världen vill bedragas : arkitekturtävlingar och presentationsteknik som retoriskt knep

Abstract: The purpose of this essay is to analytically review and discuss architecturalcompetitions, mainly through the general views of a few selected workinglandscape architects, architects and scientists. I have studied the moral and workethicalaspects of using graphical presentations as a mean to draw attention,rather than trying to meet the set program points.My results are derived from e-mail interviews, literature studies and studies ofthe competition entry Stockholmssfären from the competition Stockholmsportenwhich was held in Sweden early 2011.The literature studies have shown that the available literature on architecturalcompetitions and research on the subject is biased towards architecture ratherthan landscape architecture. Worth mentioning is also that there is not a lot ofavailable literature, mainly due to lacking research on the subject.The informants for the interviews were selected based upon their academicmerits and/or experience of working with or doing scientific research onarchitectural competitions. The landscape architects’ opinions regardingarchitectural competitions turned out to be in many ways alike – they seemed tohave a pretty relaxed view of competing in architecture. The architecturalresearcher and the delegate from Sveriges Arkitekter showed some differentideas and made a clear case of the importance of following the program.It seems that architectural competitions are rather different depending onwhich side of the competition entry you are. Competing architects have theirview of how their work should be done – Sveriges Arkitekter’s delegate and theworld of science have another.My conclusion after finishing this essay is that you must not lose what isessential to landscape architecture – the user benefit and the creation ofarchitecture suitable for its context. For those reasons I would like to see moreresearch of the subject being done. This would give a clearer picture of what thesituation is today and how we could work in the future to avoid architecturalcompetitions being nothing more than a showcase for spectacular presentationsand implausible plans.