Scandinavian firm Snøhetta paired up with Honolulu-based WCIT Architecture to design a proposal for the Barack Obama Presidential Center Library at the University of Hawaii.
Snøhetta wasn’t the only high-profile firm commissioned by this university in the tropics; Allied Works and MOS, the latter pairing up with Honolulu-based Workshop-Hi, also submitted designs for Hawaii’s bid to host the library, Inhabitat reports.
So far, Hawaii is seen as an underdog in the race, as its competitors in the contiguous U.S.—New York’s Columbia University and the University of Chicago—are considered favorites to win the bid. Also in the race is the University of Illinois in Chicago.
The three final cities each have a personal connection to President Obama: Honolulu is the city of the president’s birth and early childhood, New York city is where he spent his time as an undergraduate at Columbia University, and Chicago is where he taught law, met his wife, and started his political career.
All three designs for the University of Hawaii are set on a beach site adjacent to Kaka’ako Waterfront Park. The plan by Snøhetta and WCIT Architecture features a building that “appears square from the outside, but opens at one corner into a rounded courtyard with a pool. One end of the structure meets the ground, providing public access to a roof planted with grasses,” Dezeen reports.
The designs for the University of Hawaii aim to elevate the facility from just a library into a center for learning, public space, and multipurpose center.
“It will be a place where the president can come and meet with leaders from Asia … to bring Asia to Hawaii and to the rest of the world,” Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell told local station KHON2 News.
Read more at Dezeen.
Related Stories
| Apr 3, 2012
Product Solutions
Two new PV systems; a lighter shelf; and fire alarm/emergency communication system.
| Apr 3, 2012
Luxury hotel 'groundscraper' planned in abandoned quarry
Would you spend $300 a night to sleep underground? You might, once you see the designs for China's latest hotel project.
| Apr 3, 2012
SSOE acquires MEP Firm CRS Engineering & Design Consultants
The acquisition will expand SSOE’s Southeastern U.S. presence, broaden CRS’s reach to international markets, and provide both firms’ clients access to enhanced services and resources.
| Mar 30, 2012
18 handy tablet apps for AEC professionals
Check out these helpful apps for everyday design and construction tasks. Our favorite: MagicPlan, which uses GPS to help you measure and draw a floor plan of any room.
| Mar 22, 2012
Hawaiian architecture firm chooses FRP trellis system over traditional materials
MGA Architecture plans to add five more trellis systems on the neighboring building.
| Mar 13, 2012
Worker office space to drop below 100-sf in five years
The average for all companies for square feet per worker in 2017 will be 151 sf, compared to 176 sf, and 225 sf in 2010.
| Feb 15, 2012
Englewood Construction announces new projects with Destination Maternity, American Girl
Englewood’s newest project for Wisconsin-based doll retailer American Girl, the company will combine four vacant storefronts into one large 15,000 square-foot retail space for American Girl.
| Feb 2, 2012
Call for Entries: 2012 Building Team Awards. Deadline March 2, 2012
Winning projects will be featured in the May issue of BD+C.
| Jan 31, 2012
28th Annual Reconstruction Awards: Modern day reconstruction plays out
A savvy Building Team reconstructs a Boston landmark into a multiuse masterpiece for Suffolk University.
| Jan 17, 2012
SOM launches Los Angeles design studio
Expert team to join the firm's West Coast practice, focusing on innovative urban and environmentally sustainable design in Southern California
