STAGE I REQUIREMENTS

1.0 Letter of Interest and Experience Statement

1.1 Stage I Eligibility
The competition is open to all professional architects, landscape architects, urban planners, and
engineers who meet either or both of the following requirements:

a) are registered or accredited by a formal registration or accreditation body in one of the above
disciplines in the entrant’s country of origin; or
b) Where registration and accreditation is not available in a particular jurisdiction, the entrant is a
member of the relevant professional institute in their country of origin.

All entrants are required to provide evidence of relevant professional registration, accreditation or
membership in the Experience Statement.

Where an entry is made by a joint venture, consortium or team of professionals, the team must be led
by a person meeting the above criteria. This team member must be identified on the Application Form
as the entrant.

Each Stage I competitor team is to include an architect, structural engineer, landscape architect and a
visual artist. All team members are to be identified in the Experience Statement.

1.2 Stage II Eligibility

Stage II competitors will also be required to include a museum curator as a consultant to the team.

1.3 Ineligibility

Municipality of Tirana employees, Technical Secretariat members, Short-listing Committee members,

competition jurors and employees of the above are precluded from entering the competition. Technical
advisors and consultants who have been engaged in the preparation of the competition or during the
competition period are ineligible to enter the competition or to assist an entrant.

In other words, the participation is forbidden to:

• members of the Jury, their spouses and relatives up to the 3rd degree included;

• administrators, counselors and employees of the Municipality of Tirana, including those who have
temporary contracts, consultants of the Municipality with permanent contracts;

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• employers or anyone who has working relationships or a continuous and well known co-operation
with the members of the Jury;

• those who participated to the writing out of the announcement and of the enclosed documents or
who are members of the Short-listing Committee that organizes the competition.

1.4 Call for Participation

The Competition Brief and supplementary documents are available from the City of Tirana starting on
February the 25th, 2011, by going on-line to the competition’s web-site: www.tirana.gov.al

The deadline for submission of the Letter of Interest and Experience Statement is as announced on
Competition Calendar.

1.5 Communication

Questions can be e-mailed at the following address: [email protected]

During Stage I submission period, questions and answers will be published on the competition’s website
and will be updated regularly without revealing the source of the questions. If questions are repetitive in
regard to certain issues, an answer will only be provided to one typical question. Competitors are
responsible for checking the competition’s website to determine if there are any
clarifications or changes to the Stage I Submission Requirements.

1.6 Stage I Submission Requirements

To be eligible for consideration, Stage 1 submission must contain the following:

A. Letter of Interest

B. Experience Statement

(Two (2) copies required) On a maximum of ten (10) pages single-sided or 5½ pages double-sided, (A4
size), at 10pt font size minimum, the Experience Statement should:

a) Identify the names of all individuals comprising the team applying, including business addresses,
business telephone and fax numbers and business e-mail addresses. Clearly identify the name of the
project entrant and contact person and their professional registration or accreditation;

b) describe the professional discipline, qualifications and anticipated roles and responsibilities for the
key personnel of the project team;

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c) identify and describe projects of similar size and scope that have been undertaken under the direct
responsibility of key team members;

Projects will be listed as follows:

1. Project Name

2. Date Completed

3. Final Construction Cost

4. Brief Description

5. Relevance

6. Project Team Member(s)

7. Reference (including name, title, business telephone number and business email address)

d) Identify the financial capability of the competitor firm or team, reflected by either the total yearly
fees received by the firm or team from 2005 to 2011 or by the total yearly value of construction
projects undertaken by the firm or team from 2005 to 2011. This information is only required to be
supplied by the project entrant.

1.7 Submission of Letter of Interest and Experience Statements

Each submission must contain one (1) copy of Application Form an Letter of Interest and two (2) copies,
plus one (1) CD copy of Experience Statement enclosed in a single envelope. Submissions by fax or e-
mail will not be accepted. The envelope shall be clearly marked and addressed as noted below and must
be received during normal Albanian business hours on the given date according to the Competition
Calendar, at the following location:

Mosque + Museum of Tirana & Religious Harmony Design Competition Attention:

[KONKURSI NDERKOMBETAR PER XHAMINE + MUZEUN E TIRANES & BASHKEJETESES FETARE]
Urban Planning Department
Municipality of Tirana
[BASHKIA E TIRANES]
Bulevardi “Deshmoret e Kombit”
Tirana, ALBANIA

Late submissions, misdirected submissions or incomplete submissions will be disqualified and will not be
accepted as competition entries. Competitors wishing to make adjustments to a submitted Letter of
Interest and Experience Statement must withdraw their original submission by giving written notice to

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the Technical Secretariat at the above address prior to the deadline, and then submitting a new Letter of
Interest and Experience Statement, which must be received no later than the deadline.

1.8 Mandatory Submission Requirements

All Stage 1 competitors must submit the following:

1. Letter of Interest – one (1) copy

2. Application Form - to be submitted both online and printed

3. Experience Statement – two (2) copies

No other materials submitted by Stage I competitors, except those specified in Sub-section 1.8 will be
considered in the Stage I adjudication process.

1.9 Selection of Competitors

The Technical Secretariat will review all Stage I submissions to confirm eligibility and conformance to the
mandatory requirements and conditions. The Secretariat will report their conclusions to the short-
listing Committee.

The Short-listing Committee will review the Stage I submissions and a short-list of not more than five
(5) competitors will be selected to proceed to Stage II.

Stage II finalists will each receive an honorarium of €45,000 to prepare a detailed design
submission. All finalists will have their designs displayed at a Competition Exhibition. The
Competition Jury will select the winning design and design team, which will be contracted to
work for the detailed implementation design of the New Cultural Complex.

The principal evaluation criteria are:

1. demonstration of the potential to develop creative, imaginative and innovative responses to the
design and programmatic opportunities of the task;

2. demonstrated and proven ability to achieve design excellence and innovation in built works, in
general and in projects of a similar type within a comparable budgetary framework;

3. quality and appropriateness of the qualifications and experience of the team and key personnel
identified; and

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4. demonstrated ability to provide the professional services required, including but not limited to,
detailed design, preparation of contract documents, contract administration and project
management.

The names of the short-listed finalists will be announced no later than the date indicated in the
Competition Calendar. All competitors will be advised of the Stage I results by an update on the
competition’s website.

1.10 Additional Conditions Pertaining to Stage1

a. All submissions must be submitted in English.

b. The Short-listing Committee, at its sole and absolute discretion, reserves the right to reject any or
all Stage I submissions that do not meet the Stage I evaluation criteria.

c. No compensation or expenses will be paid to competitors submitting Stage I submissions.

d. All material submitted in Stage I will become the property of the City of Tirana and will not be
returned.

e. All submissions are subject to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
and may be subject to release pursuant to that Act.

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