Submission / Nomination
The Merit List is open to submissions and nominations for projects for a duration of five months for each cycle. The jury is independent to frame the process and concerns for each cycle within the basic framework set by TML. As an individual / professional / student / citizen, one can submit work for evaluation OR nominate someone else’s work that you think deserves an entry.
Details here:
How to Submit
How to Nominate
Qualification
Any project that had been completed in the three years prior to the year of the announcement is eligible for TML (projects completed in or after October 2019 in case of 2022-23 Cycle). The incomplete / under-construction projects are set aside for future consideration and the authors of the same are duly informed. Nonetheless, finished phases of large projects are considered for TML on the discretion of the Jury.
Jury Process
A peer-review, the Jury process is organised around three rounds of evaluation:
The first round of Reflection – the Jury selects projects based on the submission data independently and by articulating their personal choices and reasons. These choices are discussed and the Jury arrives at a list of projects that are included as works significant for further and detailed discussion.
The second round of Deliberation – the projects are reviewed in a Jury meeting and each project is weighed against the parameters and contexts of the work. Many projects are discussed threadbare, and many are contested in articulated arguments. The Merit List begins to take shape.
The third of Consensus – While the final list of projects is arrived at by consensus (not by voting) there are unresolved disagreements and to maintain the spirit of the process, all critical comments and observations of the Jury are recorded. Each project is discussed and debated on in detail and The Merit List is composed with all members of the Jury signing off with.
After this last round, the writing of citations sharply articulates the reasons for selection as conveyed by the Jury and the Conveners to support The Merit List and generate critical points of discussion on larger issues.
Former Jury Panelists
Each TML Jury individually and collectively set certain parameters as lenses through which all projects were viewed and discussed.
Prem Chandavarkar, CnT Architects, Bengaluru
Samira Rathod, SRDA, Mumbai
Mahesh Radhakrishnan, MOAD, Chennai
Sankalp Meshram, Director/Film-maker, Mumbai
A G Krishna Menon, Architect, New Delhi
Himanshu Burte, TISS, Mumbai
Melissa Smith, banduksmithstudio, Ahmedabad
Bijoy Ramachandran, Hundredhands, Bengaluru
Brinda Somaya, Somaya and Kalappa Consultants (SNK), Mumbai
Vijay Narnapatti, mayaPRAXIS, Bemgaluru
Rajiv Soni, Photographer, Kolkata
Dean D’Cruz, Mozaic, Goa
Riyaz Tayyibji, Anthill Design, Ahmedabad
Abin Chaudhuri, Abin Design Studio, Kolkata
Sanjay Mohe, Mindspace, Bengaluru
Shefali Balwani, Architecture BRIO, Mumbai & Rotterdam
Robert Verrijt, Architecture BRIO, Mumbai & Rotterdam
Parthiv Shah, Centre for Media and Alternative Communication (CMAC), Delhi
Shilpa Ranade, DCOOP, Mumbai
Convenors
Matter serves as curator, convenor and organiser of the The Merit List awards chronicling the Jury process and the exhaustive volume of data received.
Ruturaj Parikh, Architect and Director, Matter
Maanasi Hattangadi, Architect and Director, Matter
Rishiraj Sarkar, Architect, Matter
Isha Raut, Architect, Matter
Ankit George, Matter
Aliptha Govindu, Matter
The Parameters.
As TML is committed to evaluate all projects against their challenges and contexts, the Jury consciously resists unilateral approaches. The scale [S,M,L,XL] of the projects is used only as an organiser of content. Each TML Jury is free to discuss and set the agenda for the Jury Process for the award.
The Discussions
It is observed by the Jury and the Curators of The Merit List that beyond the primary discussions on projects, many broader issues that concern practice, pedagogy and built environment emerge from recorded discussions of the Jury. These are largely framed as provocations for ideological & thematic concerns for the profession of architecture.
Read the significant points of concern here.
Anonymous Evaluation
The review process provides anonymity to each project wherein it is coded and the Jury evaluates the projects on the basis of the submission data, without prior knowledge of its author.
TML ensures that the authors of the projects in consideration are revealed only after the final list is composed. While the Long-List is announced, the projects are just listed to avoid any visual references that may influence the Jury Process. The process strives to be credible and un-biased and objective as the Jury and the Curators looked beyond individual biases and cultural prejudices in the interest of the authenticity of The Merit List.
The authors of The Merit List projects can seek a copy of recorded critical comments by the Jury if they so desire. Write to us if you wish us to share the same for your entry.
The Merit List
The projects in the final list are selected after a rigorous and un-compromising review. These projects are not to be ranked. The very premise of a list rather than a ranking system is to view these as critical case-studies that represent desirable values in contemporary architecture in India. We celebrate these works as examples of high standards in contemporary Indian architecture.
This list may serve as ‘essential readings’ and can help map the course of the profession in years to come.
Recognition
Authors of the projects selected in The Merit List receive a citation letter, a personal and unique memento, and a curators’ note as a record of the recognition. All recipients are also invited to participate in the Valediction Ceremony hosted at the FRAME Conclave where the mementos are presented along with an open-discussion with the audience and the members of the Jury.
Patronage
The Merit List is supported through an endowment by Takshila Educational Society – a partnership that enables us at Matter to sustain the initiative without compromising the foundational values, fundamental premise and critical process of TML.
TML is enriched by donation of time and resources by the Curators, StudioMatter and the Members of the Jury. Apart from TML, the Takshila Lecture for Architecture and Society is instituted by Matter and Takshila to commemorate the partnership and extend the prerogative of TML to a more critical reading.
Queries / Critique / Comments
We welcome our participants, architects, students and other observers to write to us to share any query / concern / critique on The Merit List, its process and its conduct. We will be happy to receive constructive criticism to improve the process in subsequent cycles. Write to us on think@matter.co.in.
This Cycle
Opens on 2nd October, 2022.
Closes for Submissions and Nominations on 26th January, 2023.
The Jury Process will be executed after the 26th January, 2023.
DISCLAIMER
Matter is not responsible in any inaccuracies in the content and facts submitted by independent authors as a part of The Merit List. All received data is considered true unless proven otherwise. Matter is not responsible for verification of submitted facts for all entries.
All the content received by Matter will be published for the purposes of The Merit List. A separate permission will be requested if the material is to be published for any other purpose / collateral.
Matter reserves the right to use the images and content submitted in Print, Online and on Social Media with due credit and acknowledgement in the context of TML.