Arcbazar.comReviews of arcbazar.com

Extremely unprofessional and disrespectful to architects! I won 3rd place in a competition back in February and still haven’t received my prize money. I’ve emailed them multiple times, and they simply ignore emails to avoid dealing with the problem. Another competition’s results were supposed to be announced on October 8th, and October is almost over with no results or explanation. Ignoring emails is NOT a professional way to run a platform. Architects invest their time, effort, and creativity, and deserve basic respect, transparency, and their rightful payment. This behavior is an insult to the professionals who contribute to your platform.

I joined Arcbazar since 2019, and up until now, I have actively participated and achieved great results in many contests on the platform. It has been a great place for my design journey. While there have been occasional payment delays along the way, Arcbazar has always fulfilled their obligations. Going forward, I sincerely hope the platform will attract even more clients. At the same time, I hope they can improve their internal workflow so that any payment delays can be resolved efficiently and avoided entirely in the future.

Good concept, but the competition system needs serious improvement I have been using this platform for years, and unfortunately the experience today is very different from what I remember. The problem is not simply the platform itself, but the lack of enforcement toward Owners and Participants who do not follow the spirit of a design competition. 1. Rules are not enforced consistently. Owners are not supposed to request, review, judge, or assist individual submissions publicly, yet this still happens even after they are reminded of the rules. The platform needs to enforce these rules for owners and participants, not just publish them. 2. Owners can demand a lot for very little prize money. A prize of around US$1,500 is divided between three winners (60.30.10), with additional platform and payment deductions. Yet Owners can request an extensive amount of preliminary design work. The workload and compensation often feel completely disproportionate. Many Owners gave prize less than that. 3. Requirements for second and third place can be excessive. Requesting complete files, dimensions, and detailed deliverables from multiple winners is questionable. If an Owner wants to continue with a second- or third-place design, they should simply pay for additional work. Actually, the platform has this rule, but not noticeable. 4. Owners need clearer rules about post-competition work. Winning a competition does not mean the designer must continue working for free. Additional work should be treated as a new professional engagement and paid accordingly. 5. Competition presentation rules have become inconsistent. The original rules required clean covers without text, but now many submissions use prominent titles and attention-grabbing text. If the rules change, they should be applied consistently to everyone. 6. AI is changing the competition in a problematic way. The competition is increasingly becoming about who can produce the most impressive AI-generated image rather than who can create the best actual design. AI-generated visuals can also ignore real dimensions and architectural constraints. This needs much clearer regulation. 7. The biggest problem: Owner accountability. I have experienced a competition where the Owner took almost a year to select a winner (until now). Participants are given strict deadlines, so Owners should also have a strict deadline. If an Owner fails to select a winner, the platform should have a clear intervention process. Participants should not be left waiting indefinitely after investing significant time and effort. 8. Customer support is much weaker than it used to be. What disappoints me most is the lack of response to emails. Around five years ago, the administration/support team was much more responsive, which gave Participants confidence that someone was actually looking after the competition. I recently came across a public post from an Owner who explained that they had contacted the platform by phone and email during a previous competition, asking how they could communicate with participants about their designs and provide feedback (that the platform's rules prohibit this practice in a competition) through an acceptable channel. They received no reply. They contacted the platform again during the next competition, but still received no response. As a result, the Owner felt they had no choice but to ask the participant's number for feedback on the public Wall, despite knowing that the platform's rules prohibit this practice in a competition. The Owner even shared an email address publicly in an attempt to establish communication with participants which is very not fair for the competition. 9. Voting is not necessarily fair either. Family or team voting may not reflect the Owner's actual preferences or the discussions that happened during the competition. Open voting can be even worse when people give participants extremely low scores. Bottom line: The platform has a good concept and can provide valuable opportunities for designers. But the competition system needs much stronger rules, consistent enforcement, Owner accountability, better support, and clearer AI/voting policies. Right now, too much responsibility is placed on Participants while Owners are sometimes allowed to ignore deadlines and rules. Good platform concept - but the competition system needs serious improvement to be genuinely fair

I had a very positive experience with Arcbazar. The platform is easy to use and provides a great opportunity to connect with creative professionals and participate in architectural design competitions. The communication process was clear, and the overall experience was well organized. I particularly appreciate the variety of projects and the competitive environment, which makes the platform useful for developing ideas, gaining exposure, and improving design skills.

Hi! I’m Lucas. I’ve been on Arcbazar for years and currently rank #9 on the leaderboard. Over the years, Arcbazar has consistently fulfilled all payments to me. Although recent processing times have been slightly longer, I believe part of the reason is that they are taking extra time to prevent errors. In fact, I once participated in a competition where the initial results had to be revised due to a scoring mistake on the client’s end. As for the competitions that haven't been announced yet, I hope Arcbazar will follow up with the clients and find a smooth resolution soon. I’ve noticed so many talented new designers joining lately. Let's all practice a little patience and give it some time. Keep trusting the platform, work hard, and stay optimistic!

My experience as a designer has been mostly good, really the only negative side its the wait for the payment but they come through so dont worry about being scammed they are legit, the quality of the projects and the clients you meet when you win its the best part, lovely people and they are willing to keep paying you until the project finishes, but you gotta give your best and that its really your part of the job, I would likely recommend arcbazar to other designers but I dont want more competition jajaja Adrian. P

I have been part of the Arcbazar community for many years, and my experience with the platform has been genuinely very positive. As an architect and designer, Arcbazar has given me the opportunity to participate in interesting projects, work with clients from different countries, challenge myself creatively, and compete on an international level. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of winning competitions and building valuable professional experience through the platform. What I especially appreciate is the concept behind Arcbazar: giving talented designers from around the world the opportunity to present their ideas directly to clients and be judged by the quality of their work. The Arcbazar team has also been professional, responsive, and supportive whenever assistance was needed. For architects and designers who are confident in their skills and enjoy competition, I believe Arcbazar is an excellent platform to showcase talent, gain international exposure, and access projects that might otherwise be difficult to reach. After many years of experience with Arcbazar, I can confidently recommend the platform. Thank you to the Arcbazar team for the opportunities and for continuing to support the international design community.

I have had a very positive experience with this platform. I have successfully won 3 design competitions and achieved 2nd place in another, which has given me excellent opportunities to showcase my work and compete on an international level. The competitions have been well organized, and overall the experience has been professional and rewarding. I also appreciate the opportunity to receive recognition for creative and architectural work. I would definitely recommend this platform to designers and architects looking to participate in international competitions and expand their portfolio.