flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects selected to design Obama Presidential Center in Chicago

Cultural Facilities

Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects selected to design Obama Presidential Center in Chicago

With experience designing cultural and academic facilities, Williams and Tsien got the nod over other search finalists like Renzo Piano, SHoP, and Adjaye Associates.


By BD+C Editors | June 30, 2016

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. Photo: Public.Resource.Org/Creative Commons.

New York City architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien will design the new Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.

The Chicago Tribune reports that President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama chose the husband-and-wife design duo over six other prestigious firms.

Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects has a number of cultural and academic projects in its portfolio, including the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia and the Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago. Williams and Tsien became architectural partners in 1986. And as the Tribune reports, President Obama awarded them a National Medal of Arts in 2013.

The Barack Obama Foundation began its search for an architect last August, and the field of 140 architects was whittled down to seven finalists in December. The other finalists were Diller Scofidio + Renfro, SHoP Architects, Snohetta, Adjaye Associates, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, and John Ronan Architects.

The center, which is expected to cost more than $500 million, will be built in either Washington Park or Jackson Park in Chicago. It will have presidential archives, a museum dedicated to Obama’s tenure, and other digital exhibits and features.

The Tribune reports that hundreds of millions of dollars still need to be raised, and that construction isn’t scheduled to begin until after January 2017. The center should be completed by 2021.

Related Stories

| Jan 19, 2015

HAO unveils designs for a 3D movie museum in China

New York-based HAO has released designs for the proposed Bolong 3D Movie Museum & Mediatek in Tianjin.

| Jan 13, 2015

Steven Holl unveils design for $450 million redevelopment of Houston's Museum of Fine Arts

Holl designed the campus’ north side to be a pedestrian-centered cultural hub on a lively landscape with ample underground parking. 

| Jan 7, 2015

University of Chicago releases proposed sites for Obama library bid

There are two proposed sites for the plan, both owned by the Chicago Park District in Chicago’s South Side, near the university’s campus in Hyde Park, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

| Jan 7, 2015

4 audacious projects that could transform Houston

Converting the Astrodome to an urban farm and public park is one of the proposals on the table in Houston, according to news site Houston CultureMap.

| Jan 6, 2015

Snøhetta unveils design proposal of the Barack Obama Presidential Center Library for the University of Hawaii

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, Dezeen reports.

| Jan 2, 2015

Construction put in place enjoyed healthy gains in 2014

Construction consultant FMI foresees—with some caveats—continuing growth in the office, lodging, and manufacturing sectors. But funding uncertainties raise red flags in education and healthcare.

| Dec 29, 2014

'Russian nesting doll' design provides unique fire protection solution for movie negatives

A major movie studio needed a new vault to protect its irreplaceable negatives for films released after 1982. SmithGroupJJR came up with a box-in-a-box design solution. It was named a Great Solution by the editors of Building Design+Construction.

| Dec 28, 2014

Robots, drones, and printed buildings: The promise of automated construction

Building Teams across the globe are employing advanced robotics to simplify what is inherently a complex, messy process—construction.

| Dec 28, 2014

AIA course: Enhancing interior comfort while improving overall building efficacy

Providing more comfortable conditions to building occupants has become a top priority in today’s interior designs. This course is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.

| Dec 22, 2014

Skanska to build Miami’s Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science

Designed by Grimshaw Architects, the 250,000-sf museum will serve as an economic engine and cultural anchor for Miami’s fast-growing urban core. 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Adaptive Reuse

Detroit’s Michigan Central Station, centerpiece of innovation hub, opens

The recently opened Michigan Central Station in Detroit is the centerpiece of a 30-acre technology and cultural hub that will include development of urban transportation solutions. The six-year adaptive reuse project of the 640,000 sf historic station, created by the same architect as New York’s Grand Central Station, is the latest sign of a reinvigorating Detroit.


Museums

Connecticut’s Bruce Museum more than doubles its size with a 42,000-sf, three-floor addition

In Greenwich, Conn., the Bruce Museum, a multidisciplinary institution highlighting art, science, and history, has undergone a campus revitalization and expansion that more than doubles the museum’s size. Designed by EskewDumezRipple and built by Turner Construction, the project includes a 42,000-sf, three-floor addition as well as a comprehensive renovation of the 32,500-sf museum, which was originally built as a private home in the mid-19th century and expanded in the early 1990s. 



Cultural Facilities

Multipurpose sports facility will be first completed building at Obama Presidential Center

When it opens in late 2025, the Home Court will be the first completed space on the Obama Presidential Center campus in Chicago. Located on the southwest corner of the 19.3-acre Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, the Home Court will be the largest gathering space on the campus. Renderings recently have been released of the 45,000-sf multipurpose sports facility and events space designed by Moody Nolan.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021