REGULATIONS OF THE COMPETITION

The competition for the Grand Prix of Architecture awarded by the Academie des Beaux-Arts is open to all architects and students in architecture, who are European nationals, and are not over 35 years of age on 1st January 2005.
The competition is individual and anonymous.

I - REGISTRATION

To be registered, candidates filling these conditions must send by registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt to the Secretariat of the Academie des Beaux-Arts, 23, quai de Conti, 75270 Paris cedex 06, by Friday 1st April 2005 (date as postmark):

1° The registration form duly filled in (this form can be obtained on request;
it is also available on the Internet site of the Academie des Beaux-Arts
(www.academie-des-beaux-arts.fr, page entitled « actualités »).
2° A photocopy of their national identity card (European Community consisting of 25 member countries) or their passport.
3° A photocopy of their diploma in architecture or document certifying that they belong to a School of Architecture or a School empowered to deliver a diploma in architecture.

No candidates will be allowed to sit for the competition if they have not registered in advance.

II - TESTS

The theme selected for the year 2005 is:

The universal institute of biodiversity

The competition consists of three tests, all centred on the same general theme:

1) A first sketch designed in an independent manner. The authors of the best sketches selected – a maximum of twenty – will be admitted to sit for the next test.
2) A second sketch executed in an individual examination room only, with the help of computer tools. The authors of the best sketches – a maximum of ten – will be admitted to take part in the final test.
3) An architectural project.

Sketch n°1

The Academie proposes a program on an element of the general theme that has been selected. The subject is sent to the registered candidates three weeks before the sketch is due for submission.

The test sketch in A0 (0, 84 m x 1,18 m) format must:
- Either be sent to the Secretariat of the Academie des Beaux-Arts (23 quai de Conti, 75270 Paris cedex 06), by registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt, before Friday, 29 April 2005, imperative date as postmark.
- Or deposited directly on Monday, 2 May 2005, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Salle Comtesse de Caen (27, quai de Conti, 75270 Paris cedex 06).
- The authors of the best sketches selected – a maximum of twenty – will be admitted to the second part of the test.

Candidates should bear in mind that the dispositions they will be making for the first test must be kept for the second and third tests.
The sketches will be judged by a jury composed of members and correspondents of the Architecture Section of the Academie des Beaux-Arts, who will select, without classification, a maximum of twenty, the authors of which will be admitted to take part in the next test.
An exhibition of all the sketches will take place on Friday 6 and on Saturday 7 May 2005. The selected sketches will be kept by the Secretariat. They other sketches can be taken back by the authors on Salle Comtesse de Caen on Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 May 2005 (between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.). After this date, they will be destroyed.

Sketch n°2

A sketch executed in an individual examination room over a duration of 20 hours, with the help of computer tools. The programme for the second test will be the same as for the final project.
The test for the sketch executed in an individual examination room will take place on Wednesday 18 May 2005, from 7.30 a.m. to 3.30 a.m. the following day. The selected candidates will be informed in good time of where the test will be held
Candidates for this test will each have a Hewlett Packard work station, the appropriate software (see the end of these regulations ), a scanner and a printer.
At the end of the test, the candidates will hand over their CD ROM to the organizers. They will be printed by the Academie in A0 format.
The sketches will be examined by a jury composed of members and correspondents of the Architecture Section of the Academie des Beaux-Arts, who will select, without classification, a maximum of ten, the authors of which will be admitted to take part in the final test. The judgement will be confidential. There will be no exhibition and the sketches will be kept by the Secretariat.

Third test – final project

The programme for this third test - the presentation of the final project - will be the same as for the second test. Competitors will have to develop it while retaining their basic general dispositions, under penalty of being excluded from the competition
The conditions for presenting the project and its various modalities will be communicated to competitors at the same time as the text of the programme. They will then have eight working days to submit any questions they may feel useful, and the replies will be transmitted to the ten candidates.
A period of three clear days is granted to candidates who have been accepted to participated in this test to withdraw. Once this period has passed, all the selected candidates must present themselves for the final test, otherwise they may be excluded from competing in subsequent years.
The competitors must hand in their project on Thursday 3 November 2005, at Salle Comtesse de Caen, between 9 a.m. and noon (imperative deadline).
Any project not deposited or deposited incomplete on 3 November 2005 by noon (imperative deadline) will be turned down.
The projects must be delivered complete. No work, even finishing touches, will be allowed on the spot and access to the premises will only be authorized to the competitors and persons delivering frames.
The members and correspondents of the Section of Architecture of the Academie des Beaux-Arts will examine the last test and will designate the first three winners. This classification will be submitted for the opinion of members of the Academie, who will establish the final decision.

III - ANONYMITY

The rules on anonymity are imperative; they are imposed on everyone and apply from the very first test.
Each candidate will mark the required details on the bottom right of the first sketch, which will be concealed by the Administration before they are examined by the Jury.
In the case of the second sketch, each competing candidate will have to adopt a motto or acronym that will be retained for the final test.
Out of a concern for total equity, the Academie has decided that members of the jury must undertake not to correct or to receive any candidate.
Consequently, candidates may not, under any circumstances, contact members of the jury.

IV - AWARDS

The author of the project that is classified in first position is proclaimed as "Grand Prix d'Architecture de l'Academie des Beaux-Arts 2005" (the Charles Abella Prize) and is the only person entitled to bear this title.
This prize is endowed with the sum of 25,000 Euros.
There are two other awards :
- A second prize (the André Arfvidson Prize) of a sum of 10,000 Euros;
- A third prize (the Paul Arfvidson Prize) of a sum of 5,000 Euros.

In addition, the company Autodesk will offer a software package to each of the winners who has used an Autodesk® product.

The competitor classified first may not compete again. On the other hand, all the other competitors, including the second and third prize winners, may participate in the competitions of the following years. In this case, only a prize higher than the previous one can be awarded.

V - ALLOWANCES

Competitors selected for the final test will be allotted an allowance of 500 €, paid within a month starting from the date of deposit. Candidates should give the Secretariat details of their bank or post office account for this purpose.

VI – EXHIBITION OF THE FINAL PROJECTS

All the final projects, whether awarded or not, will be exhibited to the public at the Palais de l'Institut, Salle Comtesse de Caen, 27, quai de Conti, from Thursday 12 to Wednesday 18 January 2006, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. (except on Sundays).

The projects must IMPERATIVELY be taken back on Friday 20 January 2006, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

All candidates in the competition accept, by the fact of their participation, the constraints imposed by the regulations and the programme, as well as the decisions of the jury, which are final and without appeal.

* * *

The software placed at the disposal of the 20 candidates, admitted after the first test, will be the following, in alphabetical order of the publishers:
Editeur Abvent : ArchiCAD 9, Art?lantis 4.5 et SketchUp 4.0
Editeur ACA Europe : ARC+ Progress 4
Editeur Adobe : Adobe® Photoshop® CS : Adobe® Illustrator® CS
Editeur Autodesk : Autodesk® AutoCAD® Revit® Series 7 (Revit®7 and AutoCAD® 2005)
Editeur Bentley : MicroStation TriForma
Editeur Discreet : 3ds max® V.7
Editeur Nemetschek France : Allplan 2004, Cinéma 4D