The Cleveland Public Library has announced the nine semifinalist teams vying for the chance to design the library's new $10 million Martin Luther King Jr. Branch. Among the list are the non-profit firm MASS Design Group; the Chicago staple, John Ronan Architects; and the young, hip Brooklyn-based SO-IL. Other semifinalists of the global competition hail as near as Boston, and as far as Paris.
From this group, three finalists will be announced on February 15th. Each team will then be awarded a $20,000 stipend to carry out a design proposal to be evaluated by the library's boards of trustees, as well as an advisory committee that includes LAND Studio, Cleveland's leading nonprofit agency dealing with public art and the design and programming of public space.
The new library—which will replace the existing structure built in 1970 around the corner from the planned site—will be part of an upcoming four-block development project in University Circle, a busy cultural hub with institutions like the Cleveland Natural History Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Made possible in part by funding from the Cleveland Foundation, the design competition is hoped to serve as a national or international model for new urban libraries serving economically and racially diverse populations.
The full list of nine teams, with locations of lead firms identified by city, are as follows:
The Home of Shadows / Edition #2
Register by Thu, May 2, 2024
Submit by Tue, Jun 4, 2024
Helsinki's New Museum of Architecture and Design
Register/Submit by Thu, Aug 29, 2024
The Olympic Roof Reuse
Register by Fri, May 31, 2024
Submit by Tue, Jun 11, 2024
International Competition for Implementation-Oriented Urban Design of the Core Area of Hangzhou Linping Digital & Smart City
Register by Wed, May 22, 2024
Submit by Tue, May 28, 2024
1 Comment
WXY, New York, DLR/Westlake Reed Leskosky, Cleveland, and Local Projects, New York, with Margaret Sullivan Studio, New York, library programming and design specialist.
This is interesting, given that Westlake Reed Leskosky has, and protects misogynist Trumpers in their organization.