Universities as Public Clients

Filip Landa

Universities are the typical public sector client engaging with societally significant building activity. Seven years ago, we surveyed representatives of selected universities, asking about their view on architectural competitions. The answers were mostly negative, citing the financially demanding and time‑consuming downsides, and alleging that the CCA competition code contradicted public procurement law. Academic institutions generally did not issue any competitions. The situation has changed partially as some universities have tried design contests in recent years, while most still remain hesitant to see competitions as a useful tool.