HOK has teamed with the President Obama Library and Museum Campus Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, on a planning and site selection proposal for hosting the Barack Obama Presidential Library in Chicago.
In a design bid submitted with Hawthorne Strategy Group to The Barack Obama Foundation on June 16, the team proposed locating the library on a site in Bronzeville, a historic neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. Developed by an integrated planning and design team in collaboration with more than 20 firms, organizations and community groups, the proposal for the library embodies the grassroots spirit of the Obama campaign to reflect the President’s agenda.
“Our proposal challenges the historic trend of designing presidential libraries as static repositories of a presidency,” said Peter Ruggiero, AIA, design principal for HOK’s Chicago practice. “By fully realizing the potential of the site, the Barack Obama Presidential Library would go beyond cataloguing President Obama’s eight years in office. As a living part of this historic South Side neighborhood, it would drive economic development and reinforce a sense of place at a crossroads of Chicago.”
Echoing architect Daniel Burnham’s admonition to “make no small plans,” the vision for the Bronzeville site is comprehensive and bold. HOK’s design acknowledges the area’s history as the city’s original African-American neighborhood while positioning the Obama Presidential Library as a catalyst to promote sustainable growth and attract investments that will deliver significant economic benefits to the community and region.
“The Barack Obama Presidential Library represents a seed of transformation that, once planted, would have the power to revitalize this important site,” said Ruggiero. “It creates new urban spaces that will reinvigorate the local community and initiate enduring change.”
Based on the 1909 Burnham Plan, Chicago’s strong urban grid and appropriately scaled streets provide seamless connections among neighborhoods, parks and Lake Michigan. The former Michael Reese Hospital campus in Bronzeville, however, currently creates a barrier between Bronzeville and the lakefront. The design proposal gives the south lakefront back to the people of Chicago, extending the Chicago Museum Campus to the south and filling a gap in a necklace of public city assets that stretches from Evanston to Northwest Indiana.
HOK’s biomimetic plan for the Obama Presidential Library aims to achieve Living Building Challenge certification. Principles of biomimicry will create a site that is functionally indistinguishable from the region’s natural coastal environment and that fills a gap in Illinois’ Millennium Reserve habitat restoration program.
“The Obama Presidential Library itself will be a model of 21st-century healthy urban living, carbon neutrality and regenerative design,” said Colin Rohlfing, HOK’s sustainable design leader in Chicago.
An elevated park would offer park views along 31st, 29th and 26th Streets, welcoming the community to the site. Connecting the site to Lake Michigan creates an important new green space in the city that has the potential to house vertical farms and land dedicated to research in environmental and related sciences. See the design bid on Issuu.
-------------
HOK is a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm. Through a network of 23 offices worldwide, HOK provides design excellence and innovation to create places that enrich people's lives and help clients succeed. For four consecutive years, DesignIntelligence has ranked HOK as a leader in sustainable and high-performance design.
The proposal envisions the library as a catalyst for a new lakefront connection in Bronzeville.
A new urban neighborhood would extend southward from the city's existing Museum Campus.
The existing site is fairly barren and was once the home of Michael Reese Hospital.
Related Stories
| Jul 11, 2012
New BDC University course: Design Criteria for Ceramic Tile/Stone Installations
Everyone that successfully completed to course will receive 1.0 HSW/LU AIA LU.
| Jul 11, 2012
Perkins+Will designs new home for Gateway Community College
Largest one-time funded Connecticut state project and first designed to be LEED Gold.
| Jul 11, 2012
HOK honored with Los Angeles architectural award
42nd annual awards from the Los Angeles Business Council honor design excellence.
| Jul 11, 2012
Skanska relocates its Philadelphia metro office
Construction firm’s new 19,100-sf office targets LEED Gold certification.
| Jul 9, 2012
Modular Construction Delivers Model for New York Housing in Record Time
A 65-unit supportive housing facility in Brooklyn, N.Y., was completed in record time using modular construction with six stories set in just 12 days.
| Jul 9, 2012
NELSON, Torchia announce merger
Former competitors seek competitive advantage by joining forces.
| Jul 9, 2012
Integrated Design Group completes UCSB data center
Firm uses European standard of power at USCB North Hall Research Data Center.
| Jul 9, 2012
Oakdale, Calif., Heritage Oaks Senior Apartments opens
New complex highlights senior preferences for amenities.
| Jul 3, 2012
Trimble to acquire WinEstimator
Acquisition adds estimating software solutions to Meridian Systems’ portfolio.
| Jul 3, 2012
Summit Design+Build completes Emmi Solutions HQ
The new headquarters totals 20,455 sq. ft. and features a loft-style space with exposed masonry and mechanical systems, 17-ft clear ceilings, two large rooftop skylights, and private offices with full glass partition walls.