Award procedures compared: competition, direct award or fee auction

Which award procedure suits you depends on three questions: are you a public or a private client? Are you mainly looking for the best design idea or the right practice at a fair fee? And how much effort do you and the practices want to invest before the commission? Public clients are bound by procurement law above certain thresholds; private clients choose the procedure freely.

Architectural competition (SIA 142)

• —Suited to: projects where the design idea comes first, such as public buildings or sites important for urban design.
• —For the client: a brief, a jury and prize money are needed; the effort is high.
• —Result: a winning design and the practice that develops it.

Study commission (SIA 143)

• —Suited to: tasks that should be clarified in dialogue with the practices.
• —For the client: several practices work in parallel for a fee, with interim meetings.
• —Result: proposed solutions and the choice of a practice to take the project forward.

Invited quotation

• —Suited to: private clients who know a few practices and want to compare them.
• —For the client: you approach the practices yourself, agree the scope of services and compare the quotes by hand.
• —Result: a practice at a negotiated fee.

Direct award

• —Suited to: when you already know and trust a practice, or for small commissions.
• —For the client: the least effort, but no comparison.
• —Result: a practice, without competition.

Sealed fee auction

• —Suited to: private clients, investors and developers who want to compare several practices without running a competition.
• —For the client: you define the scope of services once, vetted practices apply in the same structure, and you compare them side by side. On Architektonik, tendering is free of charge.
• —Result: a practice chosen on fee, suitability, approach and schedule, without a finished design. More in the article sealed fee auction.

For public clients

Above the statutory thresholds, the Confederation, cantons and municipalities tender under procurement law (PPA/IAPP), published on simap.ch. Competitions and study commissions under SIA 142/143 are common there. The sealed fee auction on Architektonik is aimed at private clients. The terms are explained in the procurement glossary.

How to decide

If you are looking for the best idea for an important site, a competition is right. If you already know your practice, a direct award is enough. If you want to compare several practices without them drawing designs first, the fee auction or an invited quotation fits. How to compare the quotes fairly is described in the article comparing architects’ fee quotes.

Join the House and submit your first sealed fee bid.