In this study, the change of critical elements of the design evaluation was investigated during two decades at the architectural competition which was held nationwide in Germany. Specifically, the periods of investigation span both from July 1989 to June 1990 and from July 2009 to June 2010. The results of the analysis show that the cost of construction, the maintenance cost, the design of facade and the energy conservation are being magnified for the new important elements. The images of buildings and the economic aspects are meant to be high. The frequency of the critical elements for interior spaces is approximately two times more important than those for the forms and outdoor spaces. Overall, many juries of the architectural competition in Germany were interested in the elements for interior spaces. The field of function accounts for roughly the half of four basic architectural fields such as function, others, aesthetic and construction fields. The critical elements are required persistently such as context, Circulation, organization of space, form, landscape and outdoor space design, arrangement of building, cost of construction, function, design of facade, location of main entrance. These items are regarded as the most important elements of the design evaluation at the competition. Knowing the change of critical elements of the design evaluation, we can understand the trend of architecture in Germany. The results of this study can be applied in Korea to develop the critical elements of design.