ABSTRACT
Competition plays an almost sacred role in modern society. Architectural competitions represent a highly institutionalized field in which the social mechanism of competition becomes interpreted, adapted and instantiated. Efficiency includes a concern for creativity, winning implying having the most original conceptualization of the design task and a feasible solution to it. Delimiting the design task and narrowing the solution space would seem to reduce the opportunity for creativity. Most of all, it is unusual that the concern for architectural quality and the concern for legitimacy collide so violently. Important spokespersons for the architectural profession aired concerns that architectural legitimacy would be compromised if the illegitimately appointed winner was not accepted and awarded a contract. Procedural legitimacy would suggest that the best design proposal is identified by means of a preannounced procedure, including a set of evaluation criteria, ensuring, among other things, compliance with the competition brief.
