At the end of 2024, Prof. Zvonko Turkali looks back on seventeen jury panels of which he was able to chair or be a member. “The consistently high architectural quality of the competition entries is clearly visible. At the same time, there is a noticeable increase in the number of services that are requested as part of the proceedings without being absolutely necessary for the decision-making process in the jury meeting. This development puts unnecessary strain on the participating offices,” says Turkali.

Turkali, who has been a professor at the Institute for Design and Building Science (Architecture Department) at Leibniz University Hannover since 1998, has been a member of design and urban development advisory boards in, among others, Frankfurt am Main, Regensburg, Karlsruhe, Lübeck, Freiburg, as well as Konstanz and Linz.

While his teaching work brings analytical distance and conceptual breadth to the jury proceedings, his more than three decades of experience as an architect in his own Frankfurt office allows for a regular change of perspective, which benefits the substantive discussion: “Our broad experience in housing construction, public and administrative buildings, sports facilities as well as gastronomy, leisure and hotels certainly form a useful framework for the jury’s agenda.”

Last but not least, communication skills and diplomacy are required, says Prof. Turkali. The level of participation of the need groups and the publicity of the procedures have increased continuously in recent years. A strong sensitivity in local political contexts is also required.