ARCBAZAR: THE WORLD’S LARGEST CREATIVE MARKETPLACE FOR ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS

About The Client

Arcbazar was founded in 2010 by Imdat As, an architect and technologist with a strong background in design and digital media. His interdisciplinary expertise led to the creation of a unique online marketplace where independent designers compete and collaborate on real-world architectural and interior design projects.

The platform connects clients with global design talent through design contests, allowing customers to receive multiple creative solutions at competitive prices.

CHALLENGE

When Arcbazar partnered with Greenice, the marketplace was already live but facing growing technical and business limitations.

During pre-development analysis, we identified several key challenges:

• The platform was built using a mix of Yii1 and a custom framework, resulting in tangled code that slowed down development and increased maintenance costs
• The business aimed to scale internationally, but the platform lacked localization and multi-currency support
• Many clients abandoned projects during contest creation because they were unsure how to set appropriate award amounts

These issues limited platform growth, reduced user engagement, and made it difficult to expand into new markets.

SOLUTION

Our team modernized and expanded the existing marketplace by refactoring the codebase, introducing internationalization features, improving search and payments, and adding intelligent pricing recommendations.

The result was a faster, more scalable platform that supports global users and encourages higher project completion rates and engagement.

Our role in the project:

We unified the codebase by converting all components to Yii1, significantly improving system structure and maintainability.

To enhance security and performance, we also separated application, database, and storage servers using AWS EC2 infrastructure. This improved fault tolerance, scalability, and data protection while allowing faster deployment of new features.

To support international expansion, we implemented:

• Multilingual support for 10 languages
• Multi-currency payments across 13 currencies

This allowed Arcbazar to attract both clients and designers from multiple regions.

We also introduced several engagement and monetization features:

Tagging feature

Designers can tag products and decor items within their projects, enabling users to discover and purchase featured items.

Payments and designer withdrawals

In addition to PayPal, we added multiple payment methods and built a dedicated “My Bank” module that allows designers to easily withdraw earnings.

Advanced search with Elasticsearch

We improved speed and relevance of search results, making it easier to discover designers and projects.

Follow feature

Users can follow favorite designers and track their new work, increasing long-term engagement.

Competition Wall

A secure discussion thread where designers can ask clients clarifying questions during contests. Designer identities remain hidden during competitions to prevent favoritism or fraud.

Designer rating system

Reputation scores increase as designers participate in projects, helping clients make informed decisions.

When posting contests, clients must choose an award amount, a step that often caused uncertainty and led to project abandonment. Setting awards too low discouraged designer participation, while overly high awards reduced platform efficiency.

We first implemented a rule-based award recommendation system based on project type and complexity. Later, we enhanced it using machine learning.

The AI-driven model analyzes more than 1,500 completed competitions and continuously learns from new projects. It also uses natural language processing to understand project descriptions and adjust pricing recommendations accordingly.

As a result, clients receive realistic pricing guidance, designers are more likely to participate, and overall contest success rates increase.

ACHIEVEMENTS

The Largest Global Crowdsourcing Marketplace for Architects According to Wikipedia, Arcbazar is recognized as the first and largest global marketplace for crowdsourced architecture projects, enabling clients to receive multiple design solutions faster and at lower cost.

Obama Presidential Center and Library Competition Arcbazar hosted design competitions related to the Obama Presidential Center and Library, demonstrating the platform’s ability to support high-profile, large-scale projects.

Google for Startups In 2019, Arcbazar was selected among 100 companies to participate in Google’s Brand Accelerator Program, providing additional validation of the platform’s innovation and growth potential.

BENEFITS FOR THE CLIENT

Our collaboration has grown into a long-term partnership that began in 2015.

During this time:

These improvements strengthened Arcbazar’s marketplace economics and positioned the platform for continued global growth.

TECHNOLOGIES

TESTIMONIALS