Palisadian., 1925-08-28
Why Not Competition?


the popular fancy especially when it
is used in connection with some pub
lie work that is going to be done with
money from the municipal purse. 1t
is the magic word that has led many
school board to get an inferior
school by barring men of high stand
ing in the architectural profession,
who are not permitted under the rules
of the Institute of American Archi-
tects to enter any competition, save
one conducted under the rules of this
society.
There are many school boards and
people, throughout the country, who
do not understand the reason COM
petition is not a desirable thing when
the choice of an architect is to be
made.
1t must be understood first of all.
that architecture is a profession. An
architect should be chosen because
Of his ability, reputation and char
acter, etc, just as one would select a
lawyer or doctor. The only competi.
ton between architects that is worth
considering at all is the constant day
in and out competition in their effort
to produce the best in everything they
are engaged to do.
There is a genuine difference be-
tween competition and competitive
bidding and the people of a COM
munity are not denied the right of
competition simply because their re-
presentatives do not ask several
architects to submit sketches. De-
parting from the professional field
one finds the same principle true in
retail merchandising. The large de-
partment stores of the country fur
nish and example and one finds
Altman's, Wanamaker's or McCreerys
holding the patronage of a certain
group not because this or that article
is less but because of a standard they
have built up over a period of years
this is a form of competition.
Choosing an architect on the basis
of one drawing submitted is no more
logical than for newspaper to put
out one splendid edition and say you
should subscribe because of this one
effort 1t is the silent competition of
actual achievement that merits con-
sideration.
Too often architectural competitions
result, not in the selection of the best
plan, but in the selection of that plan
which makes the strongest appeal to
the jury. The appeal might be the
nj 10 dro i1o
color scheme, and one of hundred
fancy, meaningless things that i'm
press an individual not sufficiently
versed in architectural knowledge to
appreciate the product as a whole
The inability of the average school
board to intelligently and wisely pass
judgment on a number of technical
drawings is universally acknowledged.
Yet the average competition is de-
cided by them and not by architects of
undisputed ability.
This being the case, it is obvious
why the Institute of American Archi-
tects deplore and condemn competi-
tion which can be employed sincerely
or insincerely.
1t is distinctly the duty of the Board
of Education to choose the best archi-
tect with the points suggested as a
basis for their choice. In doing this
they are serving the best interests OF
those they represent.
This editorial is written not in the
spirit of criticism, but is intended to
be purely informative. It's aim is to
give those interested in the present
school situation in Cliffside Park the
truth regarding the advisability of a
competition as a means of selecting
an architect