Competition Grid

Chapter 4Competition Practices in the UK and the Role of RIBA

Discussion with Paul Crosby

Question (Q): For a good number of years you were part of established architecture offices [David Chipperfield, Zaha Hadid] in the UK. Can you give us a glimpse of your experience of architecture competitions, especially in your role as a director of competitions at David Chipperfield’s office?

Paul Crosby (PC): I was a director at David Chipperfield’s office (DCA) for nearly ten years, subsequently general manager of Zaha’s office and then director of Martha Schwartz Partners for a couple of years. During my time in DCA, the majority of our work was won in competition, for a number of reasons. First, because of the economic situation at the time. At ...