Archinect - News

James Stewart Polshek, academic and designer of important public architecture, has passed away aged 92

2022-09-12T19:14:00-04:00

A rare modest figure in a crowded era of star architects and designers has passed away as the New York Times is reporting the death of James Stewart Polshek on Friday at his home in Manhattan.

Polshek was known as the designer of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas, the Newtown Creek sewage plant in Brooklyn, and Newseum in Washington, D.C., among many others. His colleagues recalled him as a progressive champion who balanced the ideological pull of high modernism with a sensitivity to different forms, themes, building types, and architectural styles. In a statement published by the Architectural Record, Polshek’s former firm partner Richard Olcott said he was "ahead of his time."

William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park. Photo credit: © Timothy Hursley.

Born in Akron, Ohio in 1930, Polshek studied architecture at nearby Case Western Reserve University and later Yale before pursuing a Fulbright Scholarship in Copenhagen and beginnin...

LA Times interviews mysterious architect of "Trump presidential library"

2020-12-07T18:21:00-05:00

The website featuring a parody of Trump's presidential library went viral a little over a month ago. A discussion about it in the Archinect forum included comments like "much too nice," "not enough gold," "I like that Putin makes an appearance in most of the renderings," "far too tasteful for Trump - have you seen that guy's buildings?" and "that's brilliant, great location, but who's the architect?"

The LA Times' Carolina A. Miranda managed to track down the anonymous designer responsible for this masterpiece. Without naming the individual, it was disclosed that it was a design by a licensed NY architect, with help from a number of friends.

Will the Trump Presidential Library contain any actual books?

That’s a question we get a lot. The first floor will have a criminal records room and we will keep some copies of “The Art of the Deal” around. But how do you design a library for someone who doesn’t read? That is the joke.

Read the full interview here...

...

Snøhetta wins the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library competition

2020-09-21T12:45:00-04:00

After revealing three finalist designs for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library last month, the international competition for the planned $100 million research and interpretive center has unanimously selected Snøhetta as the design architect. Their winning proposal for the forthcoming 15th American Presidential Library in the Badlands of North Dakota prevailed over the other two finalist entries by Studio Gang and Henning Larsen.

Image courtesy of Snøhetta.

"The design of the Library is more than a building," explains Snøhetta's project description, adding, "it is a journey through a preserved landscape of diverse habitats, punctuated with small pavilions providing spaces for reflection and activity. The Library’s gently sloping roof looks to the northeast, gazing over the National Park, historical settings in the Little Missouri River valley, and the Elkhorn Ranch far in the distance, further connecting the Library of tomorrow with its origins in th...

Henning Larsen, Snøhetta, and Studio Gang unveil concepts for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

2020-08-22T13:20:00-04:00

In the final phases of the design competition for the design of the anticipated Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, the Foundation of the same name has selected three finalists: Henning Larsen, Snøhetta, and Studio Gang. The top three were chosen from amongst 12 other practices that responded to the RFQ made public by the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation.

Studio Gang's concept. Image courtesy of Studio Gang.

The project will reside in the the North Dakotan Badlands where Roosevelt first set out to following the death of his wife and mother. The Badlands is where a young Roosevelt found refuge and healing, pursuing what he later called the "strenuous life." The mission of the library is "to explore Theodore Roosevelt's life, legacy, and enduring relevance." The submissions by each of the three finalists uniquely capture this lasting legacy.

Image courtesy of Henning Larsen. See our in-depth of Henning Larsen's concept here.

Henning Larsen

Henning Larsen's conce...

Henning Larsen unveils design for Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

2020-08-22T13:20:00-04:00

Henning Larsen with Nelson Byrd Woltz have unveiled their design for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. The design team is one of the three finalists for a competition held by the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. the other two finalists include Snøhetta and Studio Gang.

Located in the rich landscapes of the North Dakotan Badlands, Henning Larsen's design takes its inspiration from its environment. "There is a unique and awe-inspiring beauty to everything about the Badlands that you simply cannot experience anywhere else," said Michael Sørensen, design lead and Partner at Henning Larsen in a statement. "The landscape only fully unfolds once you are already within it; once you are, the hills, buttes, fields, and streams stretch as far as you can see."

The building is comprised of four volumes that each shape a formal reference to the geography of the Badlands. The focal point of the collection of structures is the Legacy Beacon, a tower that becomes a visi...

Snøhetta unveils gently sloping design for Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

2020-08-22T13:20:00-04:00

Snøhetta has unveiled their proposal for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota. The firm is competing against Studio Gang and Henning Larsen for the commission.

Snøhetta's proposal is designed as "a journey through a preserved landscape of diverse habitats, punctuated with small pavilions providing spaces for reflection and activity," and is topped by a gently curving roof meant to evoke the rolling hills surrounding the library.

"The Library is the landscape," write the architects, explaining that the building's roof is fully accessible to visitors for day and night occupation. A "generous, covered porch" marks one end of the structure that overlooks nearby valley landscapes while a surrounding Library loop hiking path connects nearby trails and a series of pavilions designed by the architects. The entire ensemble—library, roof, trails, and pavilions—is seen by the designers as one unified, complimentary whole with each component responding to and enriching...

Studio Gang and OLIN release design for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

2020-08-22T13:20:00-04:00

Studio Gang and OLIN's Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is conceived as a basecamp that is embedded in the North Dakota Badlands. The concept is one of three selections by the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation as a part of its design competition for a Library celebrating the life and legacy of one of the country's most remarkable presidents. The other two finalists include Snøhetta and Henning Larsen.

"Our design is inspired by T.R.’s dual love of learning and the outdoors," said Jeanne Gang, Founding Principal at Studio Gang. "As the first Presidential Library attached to a National Park, the project is poised to foster greater understanding, environmental stewardship, and healing in one of North America’s most incredible natural places. Intimately connected with the ecology of the North Dakota Badlands, Basecamp will at once draw people inward for intellectual exchange and direct them outward for physical exploration, allowing them to discover new connectio...

Henning Larsen, Studio Gang, and Snøhetta shortlisted for Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota

2020-05-20T17:29:00-04:00

The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation has named Studio Gang, Henning Larsen, and Snøhetta as the finalists for a forthcoming $100 million research and interpretive center dedicated to the nation's 26th president.

Slated for a 60-acre site located in the Badlands of North Dakota, the forthcoming library complex was initiated by the state's legislature in 2019 and fundraising is currently underway to help push the project into design and construction, The Bismarck Tribune reports.

Regarding the project, Michael Sørensen, Partner and director of Henning Larsen’s New York office writes, “We’re deeply honored to be part of this historic opportunity and are looking forward to immersing ourselves in the majesty of the Badlands,” adding, “For us, the architecture and the landscape must embody the spirit of the Badlands, the spirit and sanctity of place – now, tomorrow and for generations to come." The Henning Larsen team includes landscape architects Nelson Byrd Woltz Lan...

University of Chicago faculty sign letter opposing current plans for Obama Presidential Center amidst changes

2018-01-08T19:35:00-05:00

From disapprovals over the design to concerns about parking, the Obama Presidential Center has been met with strong opposition since its unveiling. In particular, residents of Chicago's South Side, where the center will be located, have been quite critical of the Foundation's location choice as well as its refusal to sign a Community Benefits Agreement.

Joining in on the conversation, more than 100 University of Chicago faculty members have now penned a letter concerning the Obama Center, opposing its plans on economic and preservation grounds. Though faculty members support locating the Center in Chicago's South Side—near the university where the former President once taught—they share concerns expressed by neighborhood groups about its currently planned placement at Jackson Park.

Woodlawn residents and Hyde Parkers protest current Obama Center plans back in November. Courtesy of Southside Together Organizing for Power.

According to the criticism, locating the Center in Jackson Pa...

Obama Center parking garage proposal: community groups offer feedback after latest design revisions

2017-12-28T14:15:00-05:00

The Obama Center design team has been reworking plans for a proposed controversial garage on a portion of the historic Midway Plaisance, across the street from where the presidential complex is to be built in Jackson Park. [...] When I left off on this story in November, Tod Williams, one of the architects, said relocating the garage was under consideration, given the concerns of community groups for the historic publicly owned Midway property.

Curbed Chicago picks up the story where the Chicago Sun-Times left off and reports about some of the praise and criticism that was presented at a meeting the Obama Foundation had called on December 20 at its Hyde Park Headquarters. The hearing was led by the project's architects Tod Williams, Billie Tsien, Dina Griffin as well as the landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh.

Funding of Obama Presidential Center raises concerns

2017-08-24T09:00:00-04:00

Plans for the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park are being firmed up largely out of public view, and one watchdog group is sounding the alarm about the lack of transparency. Decisions on the design of the center, the park’s golf course and even whether to eliminate some roads in the park are being worked out by the Obama Foundation, City Hall and the Chicago Park District.

Designed by the New York-based firm Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, the Obama Presidential Center will consist of three buildings—a museum, a forum, and a library located near a lagoon that runs into Lake Michigan in Chicago's Jackson Park neighborhood. However, recently Jackson Park Watch has sent a letter to City Hall outlining their concerns about the lack of transparency throughout the planning process.

After many months, the Chicago Park District and the Chicago Department of Transportation have not yet put a price tag on the roadway and infrastructure changes tied to the Obama Center and the proposal to merge the Jackson Park and South Shore golf courses into a single championship-caliber course, which would involve closing Cornell Drive and Marquette Drive, building a pair of new underpasses, possibly an underground garage and improving the shoreline.

The past four community meetings in June and July have not provided the public with any details about proposed street c...

Obama said to reveal 3D model of Presidential Center on Wednesday

2017-05-02T13:26:00-04:00

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Obamas will finally reveal a conceptual model of the former president’s library and museum tomorrow. The Obamas are to release the three-dimensional model at a community meeting event at the South Shore Cultural Center, which also happens to be where the couple held their 1992 wedding reception. Expected to attend the event is Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, who also served as the president’s first White House Chief of Staff. Obama will host a roundtable discussion, giving an update on the center, followed by feedback from community leaders—a format that makes sense given that Obama got his start as a community organizer in Chicago and has long been a champion of civic engagement.

The Presidential Center, which is being designed by architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, has been estimated to cost anywhere from $500 million to $1.5 billion and will be located in Jackson Park, a choice that has been controversial. Some are worried that developme...

Paul Goldberger, advisor for the Obama Presidential Center, says Obamas prefer "modern and refined" over a "traditional" building

2016-02-10T13:38:00-05:00

MCP: How would you characterize the President and First Lady’s architectural taste, as best as you can tell up to this point? PG: Modern and refined. They like modern things quite genuinely. They do not want a traditional building... there’s a certain kind of, let’s say tailored modernism, that they respond best to. But they’re interested in a range of things, and they’re also very interested, as they should be, in somebody who they will feel comfortable talking to.

Paul Goldberger was first offered to advise the Obama Foundation in the selection of the Presidential Center's architect by Penny Pritzker, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, who also happens to be the niece of Jay Pritzker – founder of the Pritzker Prize in 1979.

Get caught up on the selection process for the architect of Obama's Presidential Library:

These are the seven finalists in the Obama Presidential Center competition

2015-12-21T13:35:00-05:00

Today, The Barack Obama Foundation issued a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) to seven architectural firms, one of which will ultimately be selected to design the Obama Presidential Center (OPC) on the South Side of Chicago. [...] Although the RFP process is not a design competition, the RFP will require defined, visual responses from each candidate to present creative ideas in response to the Foundation’s project goals.

After sending out RFQs to a broad range of (undisclosed but widely speculated) architectural firms on August 26, the President and First Lady, together with advisers from the Obama Foundation, have found time to sit down and select seven finalists to receive a formal Request for Proposal. The top-picks aren't surprising and reflect the direction public predictions had already taken:

Adjaye Associates, London, England
Diller Scofidio + Renfro, New York, NY
John Ronan Architects, Chicago, Illinois
Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Genova, Italy
SHoP Architects, New York, NY
Snøhetta, New York, NY
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, New York, NY

Martin Nesbitt, chairman of the Obama Foundation, said: "These finalists offer a variety of backgrounds and styles, and any one of them would be an excellent choice. We are excited to see this process moving forward because the Obama Presidential Center will be so much more than a library – this facility will seek to inspire citizens across the globe to...

Obama Presidential Center competition attracts 140 firms, early 2016 selection date of architect expected to be delayed

2015-09-22T14:30:00-04:00

The [Barack Obama Foundation] said 99 of the [140] firms were based in the U.S. with 'many' from Chicago...The Foundation expects [to shortlist] fewer than 10 finalists, who will be asked to respond to the still-to-be-released 'Request for Proposals.'...A Foundation spokesman said that given the number of responses, 'we are reviewing' the self-imposed early 2016 deadline for President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle to select an architect.

More about the Obama Presidential Center on Archinect:

First big-name architects confirmed for Obama Presidential Center

Coming soon: search for architect of Obama's presidential center

Chicago will indeed be the home of the Obama Presidential Center

University of Chicago will reportedly win race for Obama Presidential Library

2014 Chicago Prize winners envision the Obama Presidential Library

First big-name architects confirmed for Obama Presidential Center

2015-09-01T20:32:00-04:00

When Barack Obama's people announced last week that they are searching worldwide for an architect for the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, they won no points for transparency. [...] Having consulted sources, I can now name 11 of the firms and observe that they are A) Of high caliber; B) Represent a broad geographic and aesthetic spectrum; and C) Include the established firms one would expect to be invited.

Rumors have been running wild which architects were among the 50+ selected firms to receive RFQs from the White House for the design of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.

While Martin Nesbitt, chairman of the Barack Obama Foundation, remains tight-lipped about names of the invited designers, more and more national and international architects surface 'as confirmed.' Blair Kamin claims in his latest Tribune piece that — according to his sources — he can already name 11 of the firms: among them, Pritzker winner Renzo Piano, Chicago locals Helmut Jahn, Perkins+Will, Krueck+Sexton, and Tigerman McCurry Architects, New Yorkers Robert A.M. Stern (who has already designed GWB's presidential library) and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, as well as the San Francisco office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and others.

Kamin repeatedly points out London-based David Adjaye as the one to watch, potentially the first non-American architect who could land the job for an American presidential library.

R...

Coming soon: search for architect of Obama's presidential center

2015-08-17T13:13:00-04:00

The competition for the premier high-profile commission is expected to draw the interest of the leading “starchitects” across the globe. The foundation has stated in earlier documents associated with the site selection competition that the “unified design vision” calls for the building to be a “responsible steward of the environment” and one that “embodies principles of biomimicry to create a living building.”

Chicago will indeed be the home of the Obama Presidential Center

2015-05-12T13:05:00-04:00

It's official: The Barack Obama Foundation announced today that the Barack Obama Presidential Center will be located on Chicago's South Side, at a site near either Washington Park or Jackson Park. This confirms previous reports hinting at Chicago as the chosen city, winning over alternate proposals for New York City and Honolulu. The Obama family has strong ties to Chicago – it's where Michelle Obama was born and raised, President Obama's political career took off, and where the Presidential couple met, were married and raised a family.

The University of Chicago, where President Obama was a law professor for twelve years, will serve as a close partner in the realization of the Presidential Center, providing resources and infrastructural support. Alongside the Presidential Library, the Center will also include a museum and facilities for the Obama Foundation's operations. The Foundation will fund the construction of the Center, and is also planning to establish a presence in Honolulu,...

University of Chicago will reportedly win race for Obama Presidential Library

2015-05-04T18:38:00-04:00

President Obama will choose the University of Chicago as the site for his presidential library, according to several reports and sources close to the Obama family. The proposal from the University of Chicago in Chicago’s South Side Hyde Park neighborhood, which is near where the Obamas have a home, their daughters attended grammar school and Michelle Obama worked as a vice president of the university’s medical center, is the apparent winner, reports and these sources say.

Previously

2014 Chicago Prize winners envision the Obama Presidential Library

2015-02-13T18:06:00-05:00

Although an American president has the right to having a dedicated Presidential Library, it's no surprise that the museum-library-shrine typology can spark debate and criticism regarding its true civic purpose. As plans for the Barack Obama Presidential Library appear to slowly take shape, the Chicago Architectural Club organized the 2014 Chicago Prize ideas competition that invited architects to send their own speculative designs of the Obama Presidential Library. The latest competition aimed to initiate further discussion on how the presidential library typology can be reimagined.

At the end of the competition, the jury (listed at the bottom) selected two winners and three honorable mentions:

↓ WINNER: Zhu Wenyi, Fu Junsheng, and Liang Yiang

↓ WINNER: Aras Burak Sen

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

↓ Design Team: Dániel Palotai

↓ Design Team: Drew Cowdrey and Trey Kirk

↓ Design Team: Ann Lui and Craig Reschke

To find out more, click here.

2014 Chicago Prize Jury:
Andy Metter (Epstein); Brian Lee (SOM); ...

CALL FOR ENTRIES: What do you think the Obama Presidential Library should look like?

2014-11-17T21:51:00-05:00

The Chicago Architectural Club launched its 2014 edition of the Chicago Prize ideas competition this past weekend: design the Barack Obama Presidential Library! From the lively discussion (if not frenzy) surrounding a Barack Obama Presidential Library possibly being built, the Chicago Prize invites architects and designers to send ideas of how the U.S. Presidential Library building typology should be reinvented.

The Chicago Prize 2014 competition aims to spark debate on the typology of the presidential library. Speculative proposals will fulfill functions like housing a collection of artifacts and documents relating to the president’s life while also providing educational infrastructure and framework for outreach and community programs.

Entries are due by January 10, 2015. The winner will be announced and exhibited at an opening event at the Chicago Architectural Foundation in February 2015.

Now's the time to bring the best of your clever ideas to the table.

Obama's presidential library: four radical visions of the future from top architects

2014-10-21T13:19:00-04:00

Barack Obama still has two long years left to cement his legacy as something between “yes we can” and “at least I tried”. Regardless of how history remembers him, Obama will always represent a shift from the old guard, an idealistic starting point for what (and who) future presidents could be. For now, though, his official museum, his keeper of secrets: couldn’t that still be a tangible change we can believe in? At least an architectural one?

HOK Unveils Obama Presidential Library Proposal

2014-06-25T17:46:00-04:00

HOK has just unveiled its design for the Obama Presidential Library. Although several institutions in Chicago have submitted their own bids for the new museum and library, the global architecture and engineering office states that it submitted this design in coordination with the Museum Campus Foundation, which is an organization comprised of a number of community groups located in Bronzeville.

Obama library officials allow parties to make their bid

2014-03-20T17:36:00-04:00

The foundation established to lead the development of President Obama’s library and museum opened the door Thursday for institutions and groups to begin making a pitch to host the site. The Barack Obama Foundation issued its long-awaited Request for Qualifications on its newly named website, inviting applicants to provide information about how their proposal would impact the community and how it would reflect the president’s vision.

The LA Times' Christopher Hawthorne reviews the "fittingly blunt" Bush presidential library

2013-04-23T20:41:00-04:00

Stern's architecture is always steeped in strategic references to past landmarks; there is no doubt he knows how to send, and shape, an architectural message. And the message the front entrance to the Bush Library delivers is clear: This is a building meant to honor a particularly blunt and plain-spoken kind of political power.

Stern unveils design for the George W. Bush Presidential Center

2009-11-18T20:01:00-05:00

Mr. Stern said the building, which is scheduled to have its groundbreaking next year, was not designed to reflect on Mr. Bush personally. “It’s not a portrait or a defense of his policies,” Mr. Stern told The Morning News. “It is about the presidency, the dignity of the office.” NYT