A search has begun to find the architecture firm that will design the proposed Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The group overseeing the process, the Barack Obama Foundation, declined to say how many firms have applied to design the library and museum.
The foundation did say that while foreign applicants are being considered, at least 90% of the invited firms are American, with a good portion from Chicago. If a foreign architect wins the nod, it will be the first time a non-American has designed an American presidential library.
Firms have until September 16 to submit credentials, references, and work examples. Finalists will be selected later this year, and the winner will be announced early next year.
The center is expected to be built on Chicago's South Side, either in Jackson Park or Washington Park, both located in predominantly African-American communities.
The foundation plans for the library to have community gardens, dining spots, presidential archives, and other features. It is expected to cost at least $500 million and not be completed until 2020-21.
Related Stories
Cultural Facilities | Aug 11, 2010
12 major trends in library design
Many academic planners assumed that the coming of the Internet would lead to the decline of the library as we know it. To the contrary, many academic libraries have experienced significantly increased patron use in recent years.
| Aug 11, 2010
Giants 300 University Report
University construction spending is 13% higher than a year ago—mostly for residence halls and infrastructure on public campuses—and is expected to slip less than 5% over the next two years. However, the value of starts dropped about 10% in recent months and will not return to the 2007–08 peak for about two years.
| Aug 11, 2010
Let There Be Daylight
The new public library in Champaign, Ill., is drawing 2,100 patrons a day, up from 1,600 in 2007. The 122,600-sf facility, which opened in January 2008, certainly benefits from amenities that the old 40,000-sf library didn't have—electronic check-in and check-out, new computers, an onsite coffeehouse.
| Aug 11, 2010
Fleet Library, Rhode Island School of Design
When tasked with transforming an early 1920s Italian Renaissance bank building into a fully functional library for the Rhode Island School of Design, the Building Team for RISD's Fleet Library found itself at odds with the project's two main goals. On the one hand, the team would have to carefully restore and preserve the historic charm and ornate architectural details of the landmark space, d...
