1) In order to take part in this competition, can the temporary consortium include an agronomist or agricultural engineer, member of the Italian Association and of the IFLA? Can this professional be the group leader?
Since this is a design competition, the expertise of the professionals part the consortium will fit the kind of project that will be submitted. Such professionals must hence be qualified to seal or stamp the project, or those parts of the project that concern them, or at least the surveys and investigations that are part of the project itself. Professionals who are not qualified in this sense may still be consultants or collaborators, as per point 2.3 of the competition notice. To more specifically answer this question, a professional with a degree in agronomy can seal or stamp those parts of the project that concern him and may, therefore, also be the group leader.
2) What is the minimum number of participants in each group?
The competition notice does not set the number of professionals who are necessary to draft the project.
3) Can technicians who are not members of any professional association participate in a design team?
Professionals who are not qualified to seal or stamp the project, parts of it, or surveys and investigations that are part of the project itself, can be consultants or collaborators as per point 2.3 of the competition notice.
4) Where will the 10 finalists’ names be visible?
The ten finalists will be announced on the official website of the Comune di Prato and on the competition website.
5) If the jury assigns a score lower than 60/100 in the second phase, will the group be entitled to a reimbursement?
The reimbursement of expenses will be given only if the project has received a minimum score of 60/100.
6) I want to know the exact location of area, I want to get images from there. How can you help me?
On the website of the Municipality of Prato www.comune.prato.it and on the competition website www.ilparcocentralediprato.it you may find drawings and photos of the project site.
7) I am writing to ask whether it is possible to download the preliminary planning document of the project in English;
I would also like to ask if there are any further obligations in the makeup of the team , in that must the team have a qualified landscape architect or civil engineers;
Lastly I would like to ask whether there are limitations to the group’s size.
On the competition website www.ilparcocentralediprato.it you may read the PPD Preliminary Planning Document in English.
The competition notice does not define the characteristics of the project nor the number of professionals who are necessary to draft it nor does it require specific qualifications. The professionals who will be part of the team will have expertise that fit the kind of project that will be submitted and hence they will be qualified to seal or stamp the project, or those parts of the project that concern them, or at least the surveys and investigations that are part of the project itself. Professionals who are not qualified in this sense may still be consultants or collaborators, as per point 2.3 of the competition notice.
8) I wanted to enquire whether there is a recommended number of members for groups wanting to submit for the pre-selection process. Further to that I would like to ask if there is a recommended group composition in terms of expertise.
The competition notice does not define the characteristics of the project nor those of the professionals who are qualified to draft it. The professionals who will be part of the temporary consortium will have expertise that fit the kind of project that will be submitted and hence they will be qualified to seal or stamp the project, or those parts of the project that concern them, or at least the surveys and investigations that are part of the project itself. Professionals who are not qualified in this sense may still be consultants or collaborators, as per point 2.3 of the competition notice.
9) The commission to draw up the definitive project and working plan for the park includes also the projects for its structures systems? Or merely the definition of the architectural and landscape components of the project? Does the commission only refer to the first lot?
The winner in the competition will be entrusted with the task of drawing up the definitive project and working plan for the park. The final project documentation will include all necessary drawings and data for the Municipality to set a call for tenders to realize “Il Parco Centrale di Prato”. The commission refers to the first lot of the park, as defined in paragraphs n. 4 and n. 5 of the PPD Preliminary Planning Document.
10) In a case of where the first 10 candidates on the shortlist will be invited by the secretariat, Will you incur expense in the transportation and lodging? Will you incur costs in the transportation? About Portfolio: If we take part in this preselection in the group, can we use whosever works of the member in the group? About Application form and declaration: Can I write in English?
The professional fee for the final design and working plan of the first lot of the park is inclusive of VAT and any additional taxation, as well as of any other expenses.
The projects that are part of the submitted portfolio must belong to the members of the team or temporary consortium.
Appendix B and C will have to be filled out in Italian.
11) All plans and text descriptions must be in Italian? Or is it possible to use English?
The preselection is based on the compilation of appendix B and C, which will have to be filled out in Italian, and on the evaluation of the portfolio (“dossier di presentazione”), which may be in English.
12) Please clarify if we are still required to form a temporary consortium with a group leader who is a citizen of the EU (do you mean to team up with a local architect?). The submission can only be made in hardcopy format? Can we email our works, and hardcopy to follow thereafter?
All participants who do not belong to member states of the EU need to be qualified in the country to which they belong. They will have to make a commitment to form a temporary consortium with a professional who is a citizen of the EU and who will be the group leader. All documentation necessary for the preselection must be mailed, in hardcopy, to the Ufficio Protocollo of the Comune di Prato, as per modes of delivery defined in the competition notice, on pain of exclusion. The documentation may not be submitted via email, the hardcopy to follow thereafter.
13) Further to my previous email could you please clarify the following. In PPD Preliminary Planning Document abstract you state: The project for the new park consists of two functional lots. The first includes the complete creation of the green areas and therefore of the park, as well as a built volume with a minimum area of 500 square meter of gross floor area containing, among other things, the services essential to the park itself. The second functional lot includes the creation of other buildings, up to the extent of the maximum GFA provided for in the town planning variation adopted with Town Council Resolution 63/2015, which amounts to 3,000 square meters of GFA, and which will be managed with other administrative procedures. The design of the first lot must therefore also plan for the inclusion of the buildings of the second lot which, as a result, must be integrated into the park design from a spatial, architectural and conceptual perspective.
Is there any specific program requirements for the buildings that will need to be included within two functional lots? Will it be part of contract to design them? If so is the cost of the buildings included within the budget provided?
The competition notice does not define the characteristics of the project, but the PPD provide all necessary information to draft it in the form of a schematic design, which is the very objective of the competition. The subsequent phases of final and detailed design will complete the project with all documentations, surveys and all other necessary information for the Municipality of Prato to set a call for tenders to realize “Il Parco Centrale di Prato”. The costs of the buildings in the first and in the second lot is described in the Financial framework.
14) Are there minimum requirements, regarding its yearly revenue of the professional or of the temporary consortium to participate in this competition?
There are no financial requirements to be met.
15) I’m writing to you in connection with the question, whether as members of team to be young professionals with diplomas, which haven’t license? Сould you send the document Legislative Decree 163/2006.
In the case of temporary groupings, the competition notice states that team must include at least one professional with a degree who has been qualified to practice the profession for less than five years. So a team member cannot just be a your professional with diploma, but with no license. The text for Dlgs 163/2006 may be found on the Internet. Professionals who are not qualified in this sense may still be consultants or collaborators, as per point 2.3 of the competition notice.
16) The competitions notice indicates a list of 6 items that are part of the“dossier di presentazione” to be submitted. Regarding item 4, the principal works and or most representative projects to be listed are the same 5 ones that will be illustrated with images and texts? Or should we consider it as a list of all principal works that the team wishes to indicate? In this case, can the list of the principal works and or most representative projects also contain a short description for each of them?
In the competition notice, point 4 of art. 3.1 refers to a list of all works or projects, built and/or unbuilt, that refer to the competition theme, including feasibility studies. The participant may decide to use the available space in the “dossier di presentazione” as he wishes.
17) 1. In order to participate in the design competition, in particular in the FIRST PRE-SELECTION PHASE, can participants who are not resident in the EU participate even before having formed a temporary grouping, if they commit to later forming a temporary grouping with a group leader who is a citizen of the EU?
2. For consultants and collaborators, even though not yet registered with their respective professional associations, what educational qualification should they have? Secondary school, or Bachelor’s Degree or Master’s Degree?
3. In order to work as an architect in Chile, you do not have to be registered in a professional association; rather, you will be qualified by the Municipality you belong to, that will assign you a matriculation number. In this sense, how should we proceed when compiling Appendix B and C?
1. Participants who do not belong to member states of the EU have to be qualified in their own countries and make a commitment to form a temporary consortium with a qualified professional who is a EU citizen and who will be the group leader.
2. The competition notice does not specify the educational qualification for consultants or collaborators to the group.
3. Appendix C also includes those options that pertain to your case. On the first page there is a box titles “altro” that you will flag, adding all necessary information. You may then fill in the rest of the appendix by flagging those boxes that pertain to you.
18) The group includes a land artist who is not Italian and who cannot be properly framed as a qualified professional. How should he be frames, as part of the temporary group, given his important resume?
All subjects who do not fall within art. 90 of Dlgs 163/2006 can be consultants or collaborators to the team.
19) In the appendix, the name and last name of the participants are necessary. But, in the case of offices that are forming a temporary grouping, how should we indicate the names of such offices?
In the case of a group of professionals, they must fit the requirements described in art. 2.3 of the competition notice. Appendix B and C ask for the particulars of the professionals who are part of the group; it is not requested to specify anything about the offices such professionals belong to.
20) Natural or legal persons who do not belong to member states of the EU will have to be qualified in their own countries and make a commitment to form a temporary consortium with a group leader who is a citizen of the EU.
Our team Leader is a German EU citizen however, she is qualified as a working architect in Turkey, thus not in Germany. Consequently, is it possible for our team to join the competition with her leadership?
The documents to be provided in order to participate in the competition (Appendix B and C) are affidavit; hence it is the design group itself that will verify, under its responsibility, its compliance to all requirements set for participating in the competition.
21) We would like to participate in the design competition, but we have not yet a consortium with a representative in EU. Is this a mandatory requirement for Preselection phase, or it is only required for the Competition phase? Which are the requirements for the EU representative? Should it be an architect? There are any other recommendations for participants outside EU?
The commitment to form a temporary consortium with a professional who is a EU citizen must occur already in the preselection phase. All requirements for the EU member are described in art. 2.3 of the competition notice, where all the requisites to participate in the competition are also listed.
22) If we have a consultant or collaborator in our group, could we include -among the 5 most representative works in our “dossier di presentazione”- also works made by our consultant or collaborator?
The competition is open to all subjects who meet the requirements of art. 90, Legislative Decree 163/2006; hence, the projects included in the “dossier di presentazione” must belong to the group, made up of the subjects who meet the requirements of such decree.
23) Will architecture and landscape projects, part of the “dossier di presentazione”, be evaluated according to the same criterion? Or will landscape projects be more relevant, in the overall evaluation?
Evaluations will be based solely on the criteria described at art. 3.3 of the competition notice. The competition notice does not “suggest” nor call for specific professionals to be included in the design group.
24) Our team Leader is a German EU citizen however, she is qualified as a working architect in Turkey, thus not in Germany. Consequently, is it possible for our team to join the competition with her leadership?
The documents to be provided in order to participate in the competition (Appendix B and C) are affidavit; hence it is the design group itself that will verify, under its responsibility, its compliance to all requirements set for participating in the competition.
25) We would like to participate in the design competition, but we have not yet a consortium with a representative in EU. Is this a mandatory requirement for Preselection phase, or it is only required for the Competition phase? Which are the requirements for the EU representative? Should it be an architect? There are any other recommendations for participants outside EU?
The commitment to form a temporary consortium with a professional who is a EU citizen must occur already in the preselection phase. All requirements for the EU member are described in art. 2.3 of the competition notice, where all the requisites to participate in the competition are also listed.
26) 1. Do you have appendices B (Application form for the preselection procedure) and C (Specimen declaration.) also in English?
2. In case of necessity of providing incorporation (constituent) documents, should they be translated from Russian into English and notarized?
3. Since we do not belong to member states of the EU, do you have any special registration form for our temporary consortium with a group leader who is a citizen of the EU?
4. It is also said in the notice that we have to be qualified in our country – should we provide you these documents?
1. Appendix B and C have to be filled out in Italian.
2. For the preselection phase, non EU participants may participate, but they need to declare they will then commit to form a temporary consortium with a group leader who is a citizen of the EU.
3. All registration forms are the ones you may find on the competition website.
4. Appendix B and C are affidavit that the candidates themselves will fill out, under their responsibility.
27) The deadline for the preselection phase is February 29, 2016. In the case of a temporary grouping, can the professional with a degree who has been qualified to practice the profession for less than five years actually be completing his fifth year of practice in March?
Yes, you should refer to the conditions that apply at the time of the deadline for the preselection phase.
28) 1. Our temporary grouping is composed of 9 professionals. How should we proceed when completing the application form, that only has 4 fields to fill in?
2. Should “Appendix C” be filled in by the group leader only? Or by all participants?
3. Some members of our temporary grouping are abroad at this time and are hence unable to sign the documentation in the original. Can we submit a documentation that is signed in copy, and not in the original, along with an ID document?
1. It is possible to add lines and fields in Appendix B.
2. Appendix C needs to be filled in by all participants.
3. Yes, you may submit documentation that is signed in copy, along with an ID document.
29) In the application form for the preselection procedure it is required to indicate a certified e-mail address? What should we do as UE professionals belonging to a country where it is not obligatory to have a certified e-mail address?
Participants from countries where it is not obligatory to have a certified e-mail address can indicate their regular email address.
30) 1. Given the explicit requirement to not modify the composition of the group after the preselection phase, are there any professionals whose presence is actually required and compulsory? Can such professionals be included as consultants?
2. Also, is it possible to add consultants in the phases that follow the preselection, the design group staying the same?
1. The competition notice does not require specific qualifications for the design group, nor for the consultants or collaborators. Point 2.3 of the competition notices clarifies your doubts.
2. Provided that the legal subject participating in the competition may not be modified; provided that, as a general rule, the group has to be capable of completely draft and sign the project for “Il Parco centrale di Prato”; it should be noted that, in case the group needs technical, specialistic support, it may commission specific assignments to professionals who are not part of the group. Such assignments will be at the expense of the legal subject who won the competition and under his direct responsibility; also, such assignment will have to be undersigned by the subject who completed such technical supplement to the project and by the team leader.
31) 1. Should we submit a specific form or document, to be attached to our application form for application in this competition?
2. Can the subject submitting the application be an office with legal representatives, and not a natural person?
3. Can the group leader be a person other than the one undersigning the application form?
4. According to art. 37 of D.Lgs. 163/2006, the mandate must derive from a certified private deed. In what form should we submit the document certifying the temporary grouping?
1. There is no specific form.
2. The application form may be undersigned by the legal representative of the office who is qualified and certified in the profession in a EU country.
3. If it’s a single company that is participating in the competition, then the legal representative coincides with the group leader. If, on the other hand, it is more than one company as well as some individual professionals who are participating, then Appendix B will indicate the group leader.
4. The document certifying the temporary grouping must be submitted in hardcopy, and must be included in envelope A “Documentazione amministrativa”.
32) In the preselection phase, will a method of different parameterization be adopted to select the candidates to be admitted to the competition phase?
In the preselection phase, the jury will not adopt a method of different parameterization to select the candidates to be admitted to the competition phase, the selection will simply be based upon the arithmetic sum of the points assigned by the jury, based on the criteria outlined at point 3.3 of the competition notice.
33) Is it possible to associate with a subsidiary company -totally autonomous from a legal, administrative, economic and managerial point of view- of a professional studio based in the EU, if the latter participates in the competition as a member of another group?
It is not possible for a member of a company to participate in two different groups.
34) Will the final design and working plan also include the second lot?
The final design and working plan will not include the second lot.
35) 1. In case, at the time of submission for the preselection phase, the temporary grouping is not yet formally constituted, and hence the application form is undersigned by all members of the group, will we have to indicate a group leader?
2. In case the answer to the above question is yes, must the group leader also be the representative of the temporary grouping that will be formed, in case of selection for the competition?
3. In case the two participants are two freelance professionals and two non-EU companies that are not yet constituting a temporary grouping, should the two freelancers tick the box “concorrente singolo”? and should the two companies tock the box “legale rappresentante”, having their legal representatives sign the form?
3A) Should the two freelance professionals tick the box “concorrente singolo”? (or, since one of the two is the group leader, should he already tick the box “rappresentante di raggruppamento temporaneo di professionisti”, even though the temporary grouping has not yet been constituted?)
3C) In case of a temporary grouping that has not yet been constituted, should Appendix C be filled out by each member of the group (i.e. by the legal representatives of company A and company B, who will tick the box “società professionale”, and by the two professionals) or by the sole group leader?
4A) What documentation is necessary, since the competition notice only mentions APPENDIX B + APPENDIX C + COPY OF IDENTITY DOCUMENT?
4B) Are self-certifications permitted in the preselection phase, in case additional documentations are necessary?
1. The group leader must be indicated already for the application in the preselection phase.
2. The representative of the temporary grouping will have the role of group leader.
3A) The two freelance professionals will tick the box “concorrente singolo”.
3C) In case the temporary grouping has not been formally constituted, Appendix C will have to be filled in by each member of the group.
4A) Those are the necessary documents to be submitted. If a verification is necessary, the contracting authority will make it.
4B) No additional self-certifications are necessary, besides what is required.
36) 1. Has the money already been raised/set aside for the realization of the project?
2. What kind of programming is expected to take place in the pavilion to be built inside the park?
3. Who will be managing the park once it opens?
4. Is the design team responsible for the development of an Operation and Maintenance Plan?
1. The total costs for the design and realization of the Parco Centrale di Prato are outlined in the financial framework included in Appendix A (Preliminary Planning Document) of the competition notice.
2. It’s a design competition, the program for the future building have not been defined.
3. I can tell you that, as things stand today, the Municipality of Prato will manage the park once it opens.
4. Yes, definitely. The design team that wins the competition will be commissioned to draw up the final project and working plan; the items you mention will also be included. I suggest you to please carefully read all documents that are published on the Municipality of Prato’s official website as well as on the competition website at www.ilparcocentralediprato.it.
37) We are an engineering company and we are interested in participating in the competition by teaming up with another company. Since Appendix B and C only require that we indicate the NAME and LAST NAME of the professionals, how should we indicate the NAMES of the two companies that are participating?
The two forms need to indicate the names of all legal representatives for both companies. In addition, you will have to attach the certificate of incorporation for both companies.
38) In case of two professionals that use to work, for some projects, in partnership as co-authors, can they participate in the “Parco Centrale di Prato” competition as coordinators of the team? Or is it mandatory to designate a single coordinator, for the temporary group of professionals?
The group leader has to be one single professional.
39) In the case of an international group, can the “dossier di presentazione” be written partially in Italian and partially in English, depending on the language preferred by each member of the group?
Yes, this is possible.
40) 1. Is demolition part of the works to be included in the project? And are their costs to be included among the costs for the realization of the project?
2. Can the list of consultants and collaborators be possibly changed and/or supplemented, in case the project is commissioned?
3. Should the “dossier di presentazione” be signed by the participants? If yes, should it be signed on every single page? or can the participants only sign their projects? Should it be stamped as well?
4. In case of a temporary grouping, should Appendix C be signed by all components? should it be signed also by consultants? does it need to be stamped as well?
5. The appointment of the team leader must be simply signed? Or should it be stamped as well?
6. Should the package and envelopes for the preselection phase be sealed? if yes, should they be sealed with sealing wax?
7. In the preselection phase, should the package containing envelopes A and B carry some specific caption?
8. Are there specific indications regarding the program for the volumes to be included in the park?
1. Demolition and its related costs are not part of the project.
2. Provided that the legal subject participating in the competition may not be modified; provided that, as a general rule, the group has to be capable of completely draft and sign the project for “Il Parco centrale di Prato”; it should be noted that, in case the group needs technical, specialistic support, it may commission specific assignments to professionals who are not part of the group. Such assignments will be at the expense of the legal subject who won the competition and under his direct responsibility; also, such assignment will have to be undersigned by the subject who completed such technical supplement to the project and by the team leader.
3. The “dossier di presentazione” does not require any signatures nor stamps since it is integral part of the administrative documentation that, on the other hand, needs to be signed. It should be noted that the contracting authority may proceed with a verification of the declarations made by participants in their application, as per point 5.6 of the competition notice itself.
4. In case of a temporary grouping that has already been constituted, Appendix C must be filled out by the sole representative and leader of the design team. Consultants and collaborators will fill out the sections that pertain to them in Appendix B.
5. It is sufficient to sign the appointment of the group leader.
6. It is sufficient to read point 3.2 of the competition notice.
7. ENVELOPE A “DOCUMENTAZIONE AMMINISTRATIVA”. ENVELOPE B “DOSSIER DI PRESENTAZIONE”, as indicated at point 3 of the competition notice.
8. It’s a design competition whose material and strategic objectives are described in the PPD Preliminary Planning Document attached to the competition notice.
41) Should appendix B be filled out also by collaborators and consultants?
Yes, Appendix B needs to be filled out also by collaborators and consultants.