Workshop Architecture?s entry to a Montreal competition proposed a moveable space with robotic components. The RFP gave them latitude in selecting an appropriate team to develop the design.
Fifty years after Canada?s Centennial, it is natural to compare the public patronage of architecture in the 1960s with today?s procurement for public buildings. On the positive side, there is increased transparency in public sector commissions, and former practices such as nepotism or cronyism have been greatly reduced. But on the flip side, the interpretation of current rules has created unnecessary barriers to achieving architectural design quality and long-lasting value.
Our municipal, provincial and federal governments should be promoting innovation and design excellence. This is necessary to create high-quality buildings and spaces in Canadian cities, and also to develop a strong market both in Canada and abroad for designers and architects. A solid architecture policy could achieve this by providing a clear set of guidelines to direct the processes of selection, design development and execution for public commissions of buildings and spaces. A policy can expand on existing directives?for example, providing guidance on how the public-sector procurement principles of fairness, transparency and value for money should be interpreted specifically for architecture projects. Some of our provincial and national architecture bodies have bandied about the idea of an overarching architecture ...