Obama Library | Architectural Record

Obama Presidential Center Lawsuit Will Proceed, Slowing Progress of Construction

February 20, 2019

A federal judge ruled that a nonprofit organization can go ahead with its claims that public parkland was improperly handed over to the Obama Foundation.

Obama Center Design Evolves

James Gauer

January 25, 2018

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The Obama Foundation has released new renderings of Presidential Center based on feedback from the community.

Renderings Released of Obama Presidential Center Design Concept

Miriam Sitz

May 3, 2017

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The Obama Foundation has released the conceptual vision and site map of the Presidential Center in Chicago designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners and Interactive Design Architects.

Barack Obama Releases Statement on Presidential Library Location

The Obama Foundation confirms Jackson Park in Chicago as the official site of the project.

Anna Fixsen

July 29, 2016

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Sources may have confirmed Wednesday that the Obama Presidential Center was to be located in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side, but today the President himself made it official.

Jackson Park Selected as Obama Library Site

Jackson Park Selected as Site of Obama Library

The South Side Chicago location was chosen over Washington Park.

Anna Fixsen Miriam Sitz

July 27, 2016

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The Chicago Tribune reports that President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have selected Jackson Park on the city’s south side as the future home for the Obama Presidential Center.

BREAKING NEWS

Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects to Design Obama Library

A site and design have yet to be revealed.

Anna Fixsen

June 30, 2016

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When Barack Obama was announced victorious in the 2008 presidential election—the first African American to hold the nation’s highest office—he told the crowd of tens of thousands gathered in Chicago’s Grant Park, “This is your victory.”

Obama Foundation Announces Finalists For Presidential Library Design

New York firms dominate the shortlist for the Chicago project, with a winner expected by mid-2016.

Rebecca Seidel

December 23, 2015

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Seven architectural firms are contending for the commission to design the Barack Obama Presidential Center, to be built in either Washington Park or Jackson Park on the South Side of Chicago.

Obama Library Goes to Chicago

Anna Fixsen

May 1, 2015

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The Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum will be built near the University of Chicago on the city's South Side, beating out potential sites at Columbia University and the University of Hawaii, the New York Times reported yesterday. While the library's exact location has yet to be finalized, two Frederick Law Olmsted-designed parks—Jackson Park and Washington Park—are in the running. An architect has yet to be named.The location appears a logical choice: Obama taught at the University of Chicago Law School before running for office and Michelle Obama was raised on the South Side. The Obamas also have a house

Exhibition Review: Designing A Presidential Legacy

Zachary Edelson

March 13, 2015

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The Obama Drone Aviary would transport Presidential artifacts to the public. The drama surrounding the siting of President Barack Obama’s future Presidential Library has unfurled like a juicy tabloid story, with the minute details making headlines and stoking fierce debate. Most recently, speculation abounded when the Barack Obama Foundation, the organization charged with selecting a site, polled the Windy City’s residents—and no other prospective cities—on their feelings towards the project, while Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has lobbied to build the library on city parkland if Chicago is indeed selected. Now, with the Chicago mayoral race in serious contention, the Foundation

Fred A. Bernstein

September 17, 2014

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Image © HOK Among the nine rejected locations was one in Bronzeville, a historically black neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, where HOK had developed a proposal (above). When the Barack Obama Foundation announced its choice of four possible homes for the Obama Presidential Library, eliminating nine other contenders, it didn’t say a word about who might design the building. But there may be reason for several well-known architects to celebrate. They include Renzo Piano, the master planner for Columbia University’s Manhattanville Campus, and Thom Mayne, a consultant to the University of Illinois at Chicago. Those schools, along with