Architectural competitions have been a frequently debated topic in a cross-disciplinary literature over the years. However despite their long history, the number of competitions internationally held since the Ancient Greece and their key role for the profession of the architect, research on the topic often lacks theoretical and conceptual foundation, being limited to description of competitions case studies. This paper analyses 35 years of architectural competitions research published by architecture and urban planning, arts and humanities and management and organisation studies literature. Through a content analysis, 58 books, articles and conference proceedings are analysed in order to assess the structure and the content of the existing literature on competitions, presenting some conjectures about further developments and underlying areas where research could be enhanced to yield insightful studies. The results present, a part from the disciplines and the countries interested in architectural competitions, the most researched themes: ‘for and against the competitions’, ‘the history of the competitions’, ‘competition systems across countries’ and ‘the management and organisation of competitions’. A preliminary discussion of future pathways in the literature is provided.
A content analysis of 35 years of cross-disciplinary research on architectural competitions
MANZONI, BEATRICE
2010
Abstract
Architectural competitions have been a frequently debated topic in a cross-disciplinary literature over the years. However despite their long history, the number of competitions internationally held since the Ancient Greece and their key role for the profession of the architect, research on the topic often lacks theoretical and conceptual foundation, being limited to description of competitions case studies. This paper analyses 35 years of architectural competitions research published by architecture and urban planning, arts and humanities and management and organisation studies literature. Through a content analysis, 58 books, articles and conference proceedings are analysed in order to assess the structure and the content of the existing literature on competitions, presenting some conjectures about further developments and underlying areas where research could be enhanced to yield insightful studies. The results present, a part from the disciplines and the countries interested in architectural competitions, the most researched themes: ‘for and against the competitions’, ‘the history of the competitions’, ‘competition systems across countries’ and ‘the management and organisation of competitions’. A preliminary discussion of future pathways in the literature is provided.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.