a) to design contests organized as part of a procedure leading to the award of a public service contract;
b) to design contests providing for prizes of participation or payments to participants.
2. In the cases referred to in paragraph 1, letter a), the threshold referred to in Article 35 is calculated on the basis of the estimated value net of VAT of the public service contract, including any possible prizes or payments to participants. In the case referred to in letter b) the threshold set out in Article 35 shall be equal to the total amount of the prizes and payments, including the estimated value net of VAT of the public services contract which might subsequently be concluded under Article 63, paragraph 4, if the contracting station has not excluded to award such contract in the contest notice.
3. This Chapter does not apply:
a) design contests entrusted pursuant to Articles 14, 15, 16 and 161;
b) competitions held to perform an activity on which the applicability of Article 8 has been established by a Commission decision, or the aforementioned article is considered applicable in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 7, letter b), of the same article.
4. In the design competition related to the public works sector, only projects or plans are required with the level of in-depth analysis equal to that of a technical and economic feasibility project, except in the case of two-stage competitions referred to in Article 154, paragraph 5 , and 156, paragraph 7. In the cases in which the level of the technical and economic feasibility project is foreseen in successive phases, the competitor develops the feasibility document of the project alternatives, referred to in article 23, paragraph 5; the administration chooses the best proposal, subject to the opinion of the commission referred to in Article 155; the winner of the competition, within the following sixty days from the date of approval of the ranking, perfects the proposal presented, providing it with all the projects envisaged for the second phase of the technical and economic feasibility project. If the design competition concerns an intervention to be assigned in concession, the ideational proposal also contains the preparation of an economic and financial study for its construction and management.
5. With the payment of the premium the contracting authorities acquire ownership of the winning project. Where the contracting authority does not entrust the subsequent levels of planning internally, they are entrusted with the negotiated procedure referred to in Article 63, paragraph 4, or, for special sectors, in Article 125, paragraph 1, letter l) , to the winner or to the winners of the design competition, if they meet the requirements of the call for tenders and if the contracting authority has foreseen this possibility in the call for tenders. In such cases, for the purposes of calculating the threshold referred to in Article 35, the total value of the premiums and payments shall be calculated, including the estimated value net of VAT of the public service contract which could subsequently be awarded pursuant to Article 63, paragraph 4, or, for special sectors, article 125, paragraph 1, letter l). In order to demonstrate the requirements for the assignment of the executive design, the winner of the competition may constitute a temporary grouping between the subjects referred to in paragraph 1 of article 46, indicating the parts of the service that will be performed by the individual subjects gathered.