As part of our methodological process, we engaged a cohort of architects who had previously contributed to design competitions—both as participants and/or as jurors—for their perspectives on the contemporary competition paradigm. The questions, while not going into specifics, sought to understand the multifaceted dimensions of the design competitions. Read the article ‘Who really wins? — A Critical Look into Design Competitions in India’, authored by Anusha Sridhar, here.
We ask Madhusudhan Chalasani, Founder and Principal Architect at Studio MADe.
How have competitions shaped your practice so far or opened new directions in your work?
As a policy, we do not participate in Indian competitions, so I lack personal insight into how they are conducted or how they might be improved.
Like many aspects of life in India, these competitions often lack rigour, integrity, and a commitment to enhancing the built environment. It gets reflected in the overall state of the profession.
What systemic flaws do you think are limiting the progress of competitions in India?
Competitions in India rarely go beyond the surface—there is no background study, no serious analysis, no credible jury or transparent process. The same few names keep winning. Compared to international competitions, where rigor, accountability, and integrity define the outcome, ours often feel like hollow exercises that undermine the very idea of open design culture.
Media platforms and institutions, which should act as thought leaders, too often reduce themselves to event organisers—declaring winners, publishing images, and moving on. Rarely do they offer justification, reasoning, or a serious critique. This vacuum of discourse diminishes architecture to a spectacle, which is precisely why we at MADe keep ourselves away from both competitions and the media circus that surrounds them.
If you could change one thing about how competitions are run in India, what would it be?
I honestly don’t know where we are marching as a community. Without processes, criticism, or integrity, both competitions and architecture itself in India remain deeply compromised.
What we’re witnessing is not growth, but erosion; an erosion of trust, of quality, and of architecture’s social responsibility. Unless we pause and confront these failings, the profession risks losing its relevance entirely.
