[via Archinect] Crowdsourcing design site CoContest threatens established architects
Any business that's praised for being "disruptive" is bound to cause controversy – or else that establishment probably wasn't worth disrupting. CoContest, an Italian startup that aims to connect homeowners to a competitively-priced international roster of architects and designers, has received praise for "its ability to disrupt the traditional workflow of architectural design services, transforming it from a local to an international service; from a time consuming activity to a fast and efficient process, and from an expensive service to an affordable one." Mountain View based incubator 500 Startups invited CoContest to join its ranks this year. But the atmosphere in Italy recently became far less encouraging. [via Archinect]
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CoContest promises to send around 10 proposals within a week and the client is obliged to choose a winning design.
The company says it "offers professional architectural services at a fraction of the normal price" by removing the additional costs of offline designers. CoContest creates a global marketplace, runs each bid as a competitive tender and lowers the cost of client acquisition to the architect, the company claims.
Professional architects' associations don't see it that way, however.
Nine lawmakers, eight of them architects, have issued a parliamentary proposal urging the Economic Development and Justice Ministries to crack down on the crowdsourcing website.1
- 1. www.goodgearguide.com.au/article/576230/italy-architectural-elite-moves-rub-crowdsourcing-design-site/