Rules

The Timiș Territorial Branch of the Romanian Order of Architects¹ organizes the 2020 Timișoara architecture biennial Beta².

Beta consists of a series of actions, events, projects and exhibitions, structured on three pillars: EDUCATION, PROFESSION and CITY.

The 2020 Beta competition is the main event of the PROFESSION pillar, which supports and promotes quality architecture in all its forms and manifestations, being conceived as a relational interface both within the profession and between the profession and the socio-cultural environment in which it operates.

The competition takes place between June 5th – October 25th 2020 and has an euroregional character, being open to the three neighboring countries: Romania, Hungary and Serbia.

The competition’s organization in this format is based on the contextual similarities throughout the euroregion, thus encouraging a larger-scale participation and contributing to the creation of a multilateral dialogue about the future of the profession.

The competition is taking place through an online platform – competition.betacity.eu/en, accesible in both Romanian and English, containing all the needed materials for the registration.

1 The Timiș Territorial Branch of the Romanian Order of Architects aims to communicate towards society that architecture represents a cultural act of public interest, with urbanistic, economic, social and ecologic implications. The Branch has as objectives to promote quality architecture in all its forms and manifestations, to create and support an interactive environment between the professional body, authorities, civil society and various stakeholders, to adapt the architectural education to the socio-economic and cultural tendencies, as well as to promote euroregional cultural identity at both national and international levels;
2 In 2020, Beta is at its 3rd edition, following Beta 2018 and Beta 2016 as well as the previous 9 annual events organized by the Timiș Territorial Branch of the Romanian Order of Architects during 2007-2015. Beta reflects our determination, as a team and professional organization, to change the way people understand and appreciate the built environment, with the aim of improving the processes through which we build our cities;

Eligibility and participation conditions

3.1 General participation conditions

All entries⁴ in the 7 competition categories that abide by the rules below are eligible:
> for categories 1, 2 and 3 (Built space, Interior space and Public space): completed projects realized between July 2018 – July 2020, either situated in Romania, Hungary or Serbia or pertaining to authors which have permanent residence in Romania, Hungary or Serbia.
> for categories 4 and 5 (Graduation projects and Initiatives / experiments / visions in architecture): projects realized between July 2018 – July 2020, either situated in Romania, Hungary or Serbia or pertaining to authors which have permanent residence in Romania, Hungary or Serbia;
> for category 6 (Essay): essays written by authors which have permanent residence in Romania, Hungary or Serbia;
> for category 7 (Photography): photographies made by authors that have permanent residence in Romania, Hungary or Serbia.

The same project cannot be registered into more categories, except in the case of a project within which one can identify various intervention domains, pertaining to different authors. (for example an individual house registered in the first category 1. Built space and its interior design project registered in the second category 2. Interior space). In the case of an entry present in various categories, the decision to categorise it (either to keep the entry in all categories where it was initially registered or to exclude it from some of them) belongs solely to the organizers.

The participants declare implicitly, through the submission of entries in the competition, that they are the authors of the project and thus assume responsibility for any legal consequences in the case that it is proven that they do not own intellectual rights on all the materials submitted. If it is proven within one year from receiving a prize that the receiver doesn’t own the intellectual rights of the the awarded project, the prize shall be returned to the organizer.

Intellectual rights on the materials submitted in the competition belong to their authors, which, by registering the project in the competition, express their agreement to have the submitted materials and information regarding their authors, without any restriction concerning the content, archived, communicated, published and distributed throughout the biennial, as well as through future events and manifestations, with the purpose of supporting and promoting the project, the author and the creative act.

In order to be included in Beta competition 2020, all entries must abide by the technical conditions mentioned in the 4th chapter, Entry Registration, from the present document. In the case of any deviations from the rules presented in this document, the organizers reserve their right to disqualify the respective entries.

All texts requested during the registration process have to be bilingual, in English and in the applicant’s native language (meaning Romanian-English, Hungarian-English and Serbian-English). This requirement is mandatory.

The competition organizers do not take any responsibility in the case of any downloads/uses of the materials from the website or other sources by any third parties.

The jury members, as well as their partners, employees or first grade family members are allowed to participate only in competition categories that are not judged by the respective jury members.

Beta team (team members that have contributed in elaborating this document and organize Beta Competition 2020), competition secretary members and complaints / litigations resolution committee members) cannot participate in the competition (please refer to chapter 9.Organizer).

The organizer reserves the right to make changes to the present Rules document in strictly necessary cases (especially to clarify certain issues), announcing all changes in the News section of the competition website.

3.2 Personal data protection and processing

By registering to the Beta competition 2020, the participants agree to have their personal data, as it has been provided, processed by the organizer.

The organizer ensures that the participants’ data will be honestly and transparently processed, exclusively in the professional interest of both parties, in accordance with the provisions of the (EU) Regulation no. 679/2016 of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (GDPR).

Images or photos containing or instigating to any form of violence or having an offensive, abusive, indecent, defamatory or obscene character will not be accepted in the competition. At the same time, photos containing advertising, promotional materials or visible logos / brands will not be accepted if they occupy more than 50% of the photo.

Images / photos that capture people in the public space are accepted, but only if the people represent a detail of an overall scene. Portraits of people in public space are not accepted. It is allowed to photograph all buildings in public space, except for the military and strategic objectives regulated as such by the Office of the National Register for State Secret Information. In the case of the latter, photographs may be taken only with prior authorization and under the supervision of a MAPN representative.

By registering entries in the competition, the participants declare that they have read and agree with the entirety of the rules from this present document

3.3 Specific participation conditions

For the category 1. Built space:
> one can register projects finished between July 2018 – July 2020, including interventions⁵ on existing buildings with or without any heritage value, from domains such as housing⁶, commercial⁷, services⁸, institutional⁹, cultural¹⁰ and heritage¹¹;
> architects that have the right to practice in accordance with the laws of the country where they work, as well as collectives coordinated by them are eligible;
> in this category one can register works either located in Romania, Hungary or Serbia or belonging to authors that have a permanent residence in Romania, Hungary or Serbia.

For the category 2. Interior space:
> one can register built projects completed¹² between July 2018 – July 2020, including interior designs / interior lighting design / scenography (performance spaces);
> graduates from higher education institutions from domains such as architecture, interior design, furniture design, lighting design, decorative arts, scenography, design, with diplomas or certificates approved by their country of origin and domain’s professional organizations are eligible;
> in this category one can register works either implemented in Romania, Hungary or Serbia or belonging to authors that have a permanent residence in Romania, Hungary or Serbia;

For the category 3. Public space:
> one can register built projects completed between July 2018 – July 2020 including landscape design, revitalisations / restructuring of certain urban / rural areas, public squares, pedestrian areas, parks, temporary public spaces, installations, pavilions, designed by architects, urbanists or landscape architects which have the right to practice in accordance with the laws of the country where they work, as well as collectives coordinated by them;
> one can register master plan projects, territorial planning, urban strategies etc., realised between July 2018 – July 2020 designed by architects, urbanists or landscape architects which have the right to practice in accordance with the laws of the country where they work, as well as collectives coordinated by them;
> in this category one can register works of art belonging to public space, completed between July 2018 – July 2020, made by artists from domains such as architecture, plastic arts, visual arts, decorative arts, design etc.
> one can register infrastructure projects / works, completed between July 2018 and July 2020, including accessibility projects / green infrastructure / technological infrastructure / transportation networks (including depots and garages) / street networks (streets and street profiles, bridges, road passages, walkways), which are done by the professional body¹³;
> in this category one can register works either located in Romania, Hungary or Serbia or belonging to authors that have a permanent residence in Romania, Hungary or Serbia;

For the category 4. Graduation projects :
> one can register final projects made for the architecture and/or urbanism diploma, realized during the 2018-2019 or 2019-2020 academic years;
> graduates from Romanian, Hungarian or Serbian higher education institutions like architecture and/or urbanism universities / faculties / departments are eligible.

For the category 5. Initiatives / Experiments / Visions for architecture:
> one can register completed or speculative projects realized between July 2018 – July 2020 including cultural / architectural education / participative initiatives / public policy projects etc. made by the professional body¹⁴, administration¹⁵ or by the civil society¹⁶;
> one can register speculative architectural projects that reinterpret the role of architecture (projections on the future of architecture): visions / strategies / theories / programs / competitions, realized between July 2018 – July 2020 and that are made by architects or urbanists which have the right to practice in accordance with the laws of the country where they work, as well as collectives coordinated by them;
> in this category one can register works either located in Romania, Hungary or Serbia or belonging to authors that have a permanent residence in Romania, Hungary or Serbia;

In the context of Beta 2020, the 6th category, Essay encourages a theoretical and critical discourse surrounding this year’s theme – responsibility towards the built environment as well as what is still left unbuilt.¹⁷

The proposed theme – responsibility towards the built environment, can be explored on any of the major three pillars that structures Beta 2020’s main exhibition Enough is enough! – economy, society, ecology.

Around this general theme, various topics worth debating can be tackled such as:
> do we really have to build? NO is an option;
If we do, we can have in mind the following topics:
> mapping local resources / remembering crafts towards a responsible architecture;
> new buildings vs. repairing what is broken or reusing what is abandoned;
> cities as building materials mines – recovering materials;
> discovering new materials;
> responsibility and caring for the community etc.

Competitional category 6. Essay is open to all those interested in theoretical and critical discourse, who want to express themselves through text, regardless of their professional background.

Contributors are invited to reflect on responsibility towards the built (and towards the unbuilt) environment. Those with a permanent residence in Romania, Hungary or Serbia are eligible and encouraged to participate.

For category 6. Essay 2020 edition, the competition will take place in two phases:
> phase I – abstract submission;
> phase II – essay submission by the selected authors.

During the 3 editions that took place between 2015-2017, the Octavian Radu Topai Award (PORT) aimed to pay homage to the young architect, as well as to question modern and contemporary Romanian architecture. After a break of two years, the interest for photography has not disappeared, instead it transformed into a wish to integrate in Beta 2020 a category dedicated to architectural photography, open to the three neighboring countries: Romania, Serbia and Hungary.

In the context of Beta 2020, the category 7. Photography encourages a critical observation, expressed through the medium of photography, around the theme of responsibility towards the present and future built and unbuilt environment.

The theme of responsibility in this category is reflected in the way in which a photograph comes to express one’s own vision over a subject that in the end, through its expressiveness, shapes our perception of the built space.

We want to see the theme of responsibility interpreted by the use of the photographic medium in the freest and diverse manner possible, approaching topics like:
> capturing a subject that takes into account the general context;
> practices or acts of responsibility on the part of a community which expresses a relationship with the built and unbuilt environment;
> any other subjects that could be related to the theme of responsibility.

Competitional category 7. Photography is open to all those interested in expressing their thoughts through photography, regardless of their professional background. Those with a permanent residence in Romania, Hungary or Serbia are eligible and encouraged to participate.

3 Entries meaning projects (built or speculative) / essays / photographies;
4 For this category participants can submit only completed and implemented projects and not proposals which are only at the design phase;
5 Interventions meaning reconversions or extensions of existing buildings;
6 Single-family / collective housing;
7 Commercial buildings / offices / mixed-use / industrial buildings
8 Hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs, wellness buildings;
9 Public institutions or public interest buildings that are part of the following domains: socio-cultural (education / health / social assistance / sport and youth), national defense (military units / specialized educational units), public order (police units / firefighter units), public authority (central administration public institutions / local institutions – city halls, prefectures, courts), tourism (touristic information centres / tourism institutions), other domains (environment protection institutions, water management, research institutions);
10 Libraries, museums, theatres, cinemas, churches;
11 Rehabilitation, reconversion, restoration, consolidation;
12 For this category participants can submit only completed and implemented projects and not proposals which are only at design phase;
13 Professional body meaning a series of practitioners responsible with the design, construction and maintenance of the built environment: architects, urbanists, landscape architects, engineers (structural, installations, electric, traffic etc.), restorers, contractors, including IT specialists, that have the right to practice in accordance with the laws of the country where they work;
14 Professional body meaning a series of practitioners responsible with the design, construction and maintenance of the built environment: architects, urbanists, landscape architects, engineers (structural, installations, electric, traffic etc.), restorers, contractors, including IT specialists, that have the right to practice in accordance with the laws of the country where they work;
15 Administration meaning all those community members and state employees that have the responsibility of managing the present and future built environment
16 Civil society refers to all the society members that are not part of the professional body, nor of the administrative body, that both influence and are influenced daily by the built environment (associative apolitic groups realised in accordance with the laws of the country of their origin, that intervene along with the decision factors or state institutions to influence them in order to protect the rights and interests of the citizen groups they represent);
17 Through the proposed topic, category 6. Essay is connected to the main exhibition Enough is enough – the focal point of the biennial, which aims to draw attention to the need for a responsible attitude towards the built environment.

Entry registration

Depending on the category, the entry submission procedure and calendar may differ. Hence please consider the following indications for categories 1-5 (Built space, Interior space, Public space, Graduation projects, Initiatives / Experiments / Visions) and separately for category 6. Essay, respectively for 7. Photography.

4.1 Registration for the categories 1-5

An entry submission consists of the online completion of the registration form, available on the competition page competition.betacity.eu/en/registration, as well as:

a. the attachment of a file that contains the project presentation (the project panel);

b. the attachment of a file containing the participant’s ID card, which proves the participant’s permanent residence in Romania, Hungary or Serbia;

c. the attachment of various materials (images, descriptive text and drawings of the work, as well as information about the author / office / collective) for the purpose of promoting and publishing the work in specialty publications.

a.1 The file containing the project presentation will be completed following a layout model, provided on the competition website under the name LAYOUT 1 / LAYOUT 2 / LAYOUT 3 / LAYOUT 4 / LAYOUT 5 (depending on the category), which can be downloaded from the description of the desired category – competition.betacity.eu/en/categories.

a.2 Using the provided layout for the project’s presentation is mandatory for all participants. Failure to comply to the mandatory layout of a project presentation will lead to its disqualification by the organizers.

a.3 The file that contains the project presentation will provide the following information:
> general information, bilingual descriptive text – in English and the native language of the participant (RO, HU, SRB);
> site plan (mandatory for categories 1 and 3);
> plans for all levels with captions;
> characteristic sections;
> images (photographs or visualisations of the work, photos of model etc.);
> identification code;
> optional: facades, details, axonometric representations, perspectives, conceptual sketches, analysis diagrams etc.

a.4 Each entry will be identified by an identification code consisting of 3 letters and 2 numbers chosen by the participant (e.g. ABC12, XYZ32, XOY00 etc.) which will be mentioned both in the file that contains the entry’s presentation, as well as in the registration form.

a.5 The file containing the entry presentation will be attached within the online registration form, in 2 versions:
> print version – JPG format, A0 dimension (841 x 1189 mm), 200 dpi, named after the following model: PRINT_ABC12_CATEGORY NAME;
> web version – JPG format, 2000 x 2828 pixels resolution, named after the following model: WEB_ABC12_CATEGORY NAME.

a.6 Project’s panels will be printed by the organizers on a support material and will take part of the competition exhibition (for the time and place of the exhibition, please refer to chapter 8. Calendar).

a.7 While preparing the project panel, participants will make sure they provide all kinds of information required for a proper understanding of the work in its entirety, thus facilitating the judging process.

b.1 The file containing the ID card copy will be attached as a JPG or PDF, with a maximum dimension of 3MB.

b.2 The attachment of the ID card copy is mandatory. The ID card copy will be used only by the competition organizers, strictly to identify the author and to check the eligibility conditions.

c.1. Handout of the following materials for the promotion and publishing of the project:
> 3 images of the project – photographs or project visualisations, JPG format, dimensions: A4 portrait or A5 landscape (300 dpi, maximum size 3MB each), named after the following model: IMG_ABC12_CATEGORY NAME_image number;
> short text describing the work, bilingual (in English and the native language of the applicant – RO/HU/SRB), including technical information (maximum 2500 characters spaces included / language);
> a photo of the author / office members / collective – JPG format, 15 cm square, 300 dpi, named after the following model: AUTHOR_ABC12_CATEGORY NAME;
> short text presenting the author / office / collective, bilingual (in English and the native language of the applicant – RO/HU/SRB), maximum 1000 characters spaces included / language, which will be completed in the online registration form.

All aforementioned materials will be attached to the online registration form – competition.betacity.eu/en/registration.

In case the participants encounter any problems with the registration procedure, they can ask for assistance from the organizers, using the following contacts: e-mail – competition@betacity.eu / tel. +40 722 972 156.

The registration is valid once the confirmation message is received by email.

4.2. Registration category 6. Essays
For the 6th category Beta competition will take place in two distinct phases (see chapter 8. Calendar).

Phase I – preselection of abstracts

An entry registration in the 6th category consists of the online completion of the registration form specific to the category, available on the competition page – competition.betacity.eu/en/registration, as well as:
a. the attached abstract;
b. the attachment of a file containing the participant’s ID card, which proves the participant’s permanent residence in Romania, Hungary or Serbia.

a.1 The abstract will be written using the provided layout (LAYOUT 6-I), which can be downloaded from the page with the category 6. Architecture essays’ description – competition.betacity.eu/en/categories.

a.2 Using the provided layout specific for the 6th category is mandatory for all participants. Failure to comply to the mandatory layout of a project presentation will lead to its disqualification by the organizers.

a.3 The abstract will be registered as a PDF format document with a maximum dimension of 3MB and will respect the following guidelines:
> it will contain the author’s name and the work’s title;
> the abstract will contain a maximum of 2000 characters – spaces included – font 12, Arial, line spacing 1.15;
> the text will be mandatorily written in English;
> the „Oxford” citation and reference system will be used – footnotes with the source; participants can find the rules of this system here;

a.4 Each abstract will be identified by an identification code consisting of 3 letter and 2 numbers chosen by the participant (e.g. ABC12, XYZ32, XOY00 etc.). The identification code will be mentioned in the name of the PDF file, following the model: ABSTRACT_ABC12

b.1 The file containing the ID card copy will be attached as a JPG or PDF, with a maximum dimension of 3MB.

b.2 The attachment of the ID card copy is mandatory. The ID card copy will be used only by the competition organizers, strictly to identify the author and to check the eligibility conditions.

The registration is valid once the confirmation message is received by email.

Phase II – essay selection

The jury selects the abstracts and invites their authors to develop them into essays.
Only those selected by the jury are eligible to participate in the second phase of the competition.

Results of the jury activity will be posted on the competition site in News section, on the date mentioned in the calendar (see chapter 8. Calendar), as well as via email directly to the selected authors.

Essay registration consists of the online completion of the registration form specific to the category, available on the competition page – competition.betacity.eu/en/registration, as well as:
a. the attached essay;
b. the attachment of a representative image for the purpose of promoting and publishing the work in specialty publications.

a.1 The essay will be written using the provided layout (LAYOUT 6-I), which can be downloaded from the page with the category 6. Architecture essays’ description – competition.betacity.eu/en/categories.

a.3 The essay will be registered as a PDF format document with a maximum dimension of 5MB and will respect the following guidelines:
> first page will contain the author’s name and the essay’s title (which can be the same used for the abstract or a different one);
> the text body of the essay will contain a maximum of 20.000 de characters with spaces included (cca. 3.000 words) – font 12, Arial line spacing 1.15);
> the essay will be mandatorily written in English;
> the „Oxford” citation and reference system will be used – footnotes with the source; participants can find the rules of this system here;
> the text can be enhanced by images (illustrations, diagrams, photos); each image
will have its author mentioned; all the copyrights of all the included images fall
under the the responsibility of the participants.

a.4 The essay will be identified using the same identification code of 3 letters and 2 numbers the author used in the first phase of the competition when registering the abstract. The identification code will be included in the essay file’s name, following the model: ESSAY_ABC12

b. Handout of the following material for the promotion and publishing of the project:
> one representative image, JPG format, dimension A4 portrait or A5 landscape (300 dpi, maximum size 3MB), named after the model IMG_ABC12_ESSAY;

All aforementioned materials will be sent via email at competition@betacity.eu.

In case the participants encounter any problems with the registration procedure, they can ask for assistance from the organizers, using the following contacts: e-mail competition@betacity.eu / tel. +40 722 972 156.

The registration is valid once the confirmation message is received by email.

4.3 Registration category 7. Photography

An entry submission consists of the online completion of the registration form specific to the category, available on the competition page – competition.betacity.eu/en/registration, as well as:
a. the attachment of a file or of multiple files (in case of submitting a series of 3 photographies);
b. the attachment of a file containing the participant’s ID card, which proves the participant’s permanent residence in Romania, Hungary or Serbia;
c. the attachment of descriptive materials (image, text) referring to the author.

Registration can be done in the form of a single entry (a single photography) or as a series – submitting 3 photographies.

a.1 The files will be uploaded in JPEG format, RGB, with a minimum resolution of 3000 pixels;

a.2 The maximum file size of a photography will be 10 MB;

a.3 There will be 2 versions submitted:
> 300dpi – for printing;
> 150dpi – for publication on the competition website.

a.4 Every single entry will be identified by an identification code consisting of 3 letters and 2 numbers chosen by the participant (e.g. ABC12, XYZ32, XOY00 etc.), which will be mentioned both in the file that contains the entry’s presentation, as well as in the registration form.

a.5 Each series entry will be identified by an identification code consisting of 3 letters and 2 numbers chosen by the participant and a number at the end which indicates the order (e.g. ABC12-1, ABC12-2, ABC12-3, XYZ32-1, XYZ32-2, XYZ32-3 etc.), which will be mentioned both in the file that contains the entry’s presentation, as well as in the registration form.

b.1 The file containing the ID card copy will be attached as a JPG or PDF, with a maximum dimension of 3MB.

b.2 The attachment of the ID card copy is mandatory. The ID card copy will be used only by the competition organizers, strictly to identify the author and to check the eligibility conditions.

c.1 a photo of the author – JPEG format, 15 cm square, 300 dpi, named after the model: AUTHOR_ABC12_CATEGORY NAME;

c.2 short text presenting the author (in English and in the native language of the applicant – RO/HU/SRB), maximum 1000 characters (spaces included / lingvistic version) which will be completed in the online registration form.

All aforementioned materials will be attached to the online registration form – competition.betacity.eu/en/registration.

All the materials can contain the following type of modifications:
> cropping or changing the aspect ratio
> small adjustments as: correction of exposure , tones,white balance, luminosity, contrast, saturation, lens correction and chromatic aberration, removing sensor dust.

The following won’t be eligible: photomontages, adding, modifying or eliminating elements from a frame, add borders, logos, texts and any other form of modification. In case of divergent opinions regarding the processing of one’s photographs, at the request of the organizer, the author of the photograph will have to send the original file or files (color negative or black and white, slides or the unprocessed file at its native resolution). As organisers we retain the right to disqualify one’s materials that does not comply with the requirements of the present regulation.

The registration is valid once the confirmation message is received by email.

Complaints / Litigations

5.1. Complaints / litigations submission

Participants discontent by the preliminary analysis of the entries can submit complaints/ litigations.

The preliminary analysis refers to an overall check by the competition secretary of the registered entries (attachements verification, notes on any deviations from the competition rules, the publication of a report on all these activities on the competition’s website).

For the complaints/litigations submission timeline, please refer to chapter 8. Calendar.

Complaints/litigations concerning the preliminary analysis by the competition secretary will be submitted online, via email at competition@betacity.eu.

Complaints/litigations will be submitted in the form of a A4 PDF document, written in English or Romanian.

When formulating the complaint, along with the reasons for it, please specify the participant’s name and the identification code of the respective entry (please refer to chapter 4.Entry registration of the present document).

5.2. Complaints / litigations resolution

Complaints/ litigations submitted within the timeframe announced by the organizer (please refer to chapter 8. Calendar) will be evaluated by a committee of 3 members, one of which shall be chosen as the committee president.

Final results following the complaints/ litigations resolution will be published on the competition website in the News tab, at the announced date (please refer to chapter 8. Calendar).

For the commitee members, as well as the complaint resolution board, please refer to chapter 9. Organizer.

Jury activity

Registered competition entries will be evaluated by 3 juries, grouped according to the 7 competition categories.

The jury structure has been established by the Beta 2020 competition organizing team, taking into account the profession and experience of the jury members in the domains stipulated by the categories.

6.1. Jury members
Jury group 1 will evaluate all registered entries in the categories 1. Built Space, 2. Interior Space, 3. Public Space, 4. Graduation Projects (Diploma) And 5. Initiatives/ Experiments/ Visions in Architecture and will have the following members:
> Vlad Sebastian Rusu (RO)
> Maja Lalić (SRB)
> Péter Klobusovszki (HU)
> Matevz Celik (SLO)
> Diana Dina (UK)

Jury group 2 will evaluate all submitted entries in the category 6.Essays and will have the following members:
> Anna Puigjaner (ES)
> René Boer (NL)
> James Taylor-Foster (UK/SE)

Jury group 3 will evaluate all submitted entries in the category 7.Photography and will have the following members:
> Laurian Ghinițoiu (RO)
> Relja Ivanic (SRB)
> Norbert Juhasz (HU)

6.2. Judging process

The judging process will take place with the participation of all the appointed jury members for both of the jury groups.

The deliberation schedule, as well as the judging criteria will be established by each jury group.

Each jury group will assign a president from its members and will evaluate all competition entries in compliance with the criteria and work methodology established by the jury.

During the entire judging process, each jury group will be assisted by a secretary without any voting rights that will ensure the proper development of the deliberation process.

At the end of the deliberation process, each jury will write and submit a report to the organizers, in which they state the competition results, corelating them with the judging criteria they have previously established.

For all categories, the judging process will unfold in two stages. For categories 1-5, the first judging phase means an online jury activity which will conclude with a list of selected / shortlisted works, projects which will be part of the exhibition. Second phase consists in the public jury session wherein all the selected projects will be presented by their authors in front of the jury and the public, in Timișoara). For jury activity timeframes, please refer to chapter 8. Calendar.

Presentations of the selected entries aim to facilitate their understanding (their process, decision-making etc.) by the jury (with the purpose of the final evaluation) and by the present public. Details about the presentations will be communicated on the competition’s website (in the News section), as well as through emails addressed to the selected authors.

In order to facilitate the presentations of the selected projects, organizers will cover transport expenses for the representatives of the selected projects which do not live in Timișoara and have to travel from the rest of Romania, Hungary or Serbia, to present their projects.

The presentations of selected projects by their authors, in front of the jury and with the public, are not mandatory. In the case of selected authors who cannot be present for various reasons at the public presentation, the said authors will take full responsibility for the consequences that may arise during the judging process.

For categories 1-5, during the online jury activity, the jury also acts as a curator, having the possibility of framing the competition entries into subcategories, to evaluate them on the basis of specific criteria (which the jury will announce), as well as to award them based on these principles: e.g. in the case of a consistent number of entries in category 1. Built space that present single-family housing, the jury may decide to create a subcategory 1.1 Single-family housing, where they frame all the entries that have common characteristics of this subcategory; in this case the rest of the entries may be organized in other subcategories or remain in the large category where they have been initially registered.

For category 6. Essay, the two steps of jury activity refers to the two phases of the competition (please see calendar for category 6. Essay from chapter 8. Calendar). Both jury activity for the 6th category will happen online. In the first phase the jury will select the abstracts to be developed further on into essays, by their authors; in the second phase, the jury will select the winning essays.

For category 7. Photography, there will be two phases of jury activity. In the first phase, an online jurization of which a selection of photographs will be made (series and single entries together) and which will then advance to the second phase of the jurization, when the jury members will meet in Timisoara to analyze and select the winning single entry and series.

All jury groups reserve their right to not select any winners or honorable mentions for any category, if they find that entries do not correspond with a certain previously established quality level. Furthermore, the juries can decide to share the prize for a category between various competitors, to award a single prize or to only grant honorable mentions.

The jury’s decisions cannot be the subject of any complaints / litigations, and are definitive and irrevocable.

In exceptional circumstances, when one of the jury members cannot fulfill his/her obligations, regardless of the reasons, the organizers are responsible to find a substitute jury member.

Awards

The Beta 2020 competition awards total the amount of 14.000 euro*.

7 awards of 1000 euros each and 14 honorable mentions of 500 euros each* are considered, meaning 1 award and 2 honorable mentions for each category. All the awarded prizes are net amounts.

The jury has the final decision regarding the distribution of the awards and honorable mentions, including their number, under the condition that they do not exceed the total amount.

Calendar

8.1 Competition calendar for categories 1-5

> 5 June – Competition launch
> 5-15 June – Questions submission
> 18 June – Answers publication
> 30 July – Registrations deadline – 24:00 Romanian time (GMT+3h)
> 31 July – 4 August – Preliminary analysis by the competition secretary
> 5 August – Preliminary analysis results
> 5-9 August – Online submission of complaints / litigations
> 10-13 August – Complaints / litigations results
> 14 August – Publication of the final list of entries that will be showed to the jury
> 15-31 August – Preselection / online jury activity
> 1 September – Preselection results, publication of selected works
> 1 October – Exhibition opening – vernissage in the public space of Timișoara
> 1-19 October – Ongoing exhibition in the public space of Timișoara
> 22-23 October – Public presentations of the selected works in front of the jury
> 24 October – Jury conferences + awards ceremony

8.2 Competition calendar for category 6. Essays

> 5 June – Competition launch
> 5-7 June – Questions submission
> 10 June – Answers publication
> 30 July – Registrations deadline for abstracts (phase I) – 24:00 Romanian time (GMT+3h)
> 30-31 July – Preliminary analysis by the competition secretary
> 1 August – Preliminary analysis results
> 1-4 August – Online submission of complaints / litigations
> 5-7 August – Complaints / litigations results
> 8 August – Publication of the final list of entries that will be showed to the jury
> 8-15 August – Online jury activity for abstracts (phase I)
> 16 August – Abstracts preselection results
> 17-23 August – Questions submission
> 26 August – Answers publication
> 16 September – Registrations deadline for essays (phase II) – 24:00 Romanian time (GMT+3h)
> 17-18 September – Preliminary analysis by the competition secretary
> 19 September – Preliminary analysis results
> 19-22 September – Preliminary analysis results
> 23-25 September – Complaints / litigations results
> 26 September – 12 October – Online jury activity for essays (phase II)
> 1 October – Exhibition opening – vernissage in the public space – essays publication
> 1-19 October – Ongoing exhibition in the public space of Timișoara
> 24 October – Jury conferences + awards ceremony

8.3 Competition calendar for category 7. Photography

> 5 June – Competition launch
> 5-15 June – Questions submission
> 18 June – Answers publication
> 30 July – Registrations deadline – 24:00 Romanian time (GMT+3h)
> 31 July – 4 August – Preliminary analysis by the competition secretary
> 5 August – Preliminary analysis results
> 6-9 August – Online submission of complaints / litigations
> 10-13 August – Complaints / litigations results
> 14 August – Publication of the final list of entries that will be showed to the jury
> 15-31 August – Preselection / online jury activity
> 1 September – Preselection results, publication of selected works
> 1 October – Exhibition opening – vernissage in the public space + jury conference
> 1-19 October – Ongoing exhibition in the public space of Timișoara
> 24 October – Awards ceremony

Organizer

The competition organizer is the Timiș Territorial Branch of the Romanian Order of Architects.

The organizer’s contacts are listed below:
str. Diaconu Coresi 12, postal code 300558, Timişoara, Romania
tel. +40 722 972 156
e-mail: competition@betacity.eu, secretariat@oartimis.ro

Organizing team:
Alexandra Trofin
Alexandra-Maria Rigler
Alexandru Todirică
David Dumitrescu
Daria Pau
Ema Cristescu
Nicoleta Postolache
Romina Popescu

Competition secretary:
Alexandra Trofin
David Dumitrescu
Alexandra-Maria Rigler

Complaint/ litigation resolution committee:
Cristina Paralescu
Georgiana Ghiura
Mariana Nedela

Rules

Categories

Eligibility and participation conditions

Entry registration

Complaints / Litigations

Jury activity

Awards

Calendar

Organizer

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