In May, the University of Chicago was selected to host the Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum. Now referred to as the Barack Obama Presidential Center, the building's task force is expected to cast a global call in search of an architect. As the Chicago Tribune reports, officials sent a request for qualifications to a select group of architects yesterday, although others are welcome to submit. All those interested must send their credentials by September 16.
"The foundation and its advisers wanted to present the president and first lady with a strong and broad list of options," a foundation spokeswoman told the Chicago Tribune. "We are looking at architects who represent a broad range of approaches and styles, but who all have a position of eminence within the architecture profession and have achieved some degree of public recognition."
Ninety percent of the requested architects are said to be from US, many of which based in Chicago. Should a foreign architect be commissioned, it would be the first time in US history that a non-US resident has designed a presidential library.
Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will shortlist the submissions later this year. The remaining architects will be asked to produce a conceptual design, before a winner is selected in early 2016. Plots on Jackson Park and Washington Park on Chicago's South Side are both being considered; perhaps the winning design will help dictate the center's official site.
Read more about the open call on the Chicago Tribune and the Barack Obama Foundation website.
